Always By Your Side
by blondiemi
Summary: Maka's a runaway who comes to DWMA in search of answers. Soul is a boy who ran away from the good life only to become feared and friendless. What happens when these two are paired up for a 2 month trial? Soul x Maka. (Heavily rewritten as of October 29, 2012).
1. Running

**A/N: I'm just gonna warn you that people may be a bit OOC in this story (just a bit). And as a btw, any OC's in this story aren't going to become major characters (because I know how annoying that can be). **

**Warning: This story will change POV a lot. The names in bold don't necessarily mean it'll be first person from that character, but can also just be their view described in third person.**

**Okay, enjoy **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater because if I did SoMa would have been canon for a long time. Its FANfiction for a freakin reason.**

**-Maka-**

I ran away. Away from the only home I've ever known. Up to that point I was living an ordinary life in a small town on the east coast. In New Jersey to be specific. But only until I found the letter that turned my whole world upside down. I wouldn't know how much it would impact me for a long time.

That day, my mother was out of the house. I just so happened to need a pen, so I went into her personal office to fetch one from the black mug on her desk where she usually kept her writing implements. As a grabbed a black ballpoint pen, I noticed a small paper square sprawled at the corner of the desk. Picking it up to take a closer look, it read: _Death Weapon Meister Academy would like to invite you for a reunion party!_

I frowned. To my knowledge, Death Weapon Meister Academy, otherwise known as DWMA, was a school located in the Midwest of the United States, meant to train people who were born of either weapon or meister blood to protect the world from things called kishins. I'd never thought about it much before. It was just something everyone knew about, but didn't really care too much about unless it was needed. Kind of like the FBI or the CIA.

I looked down from the paper to see a small envelope that had been under it. _Kami Albarn_. That's what it read. I bit my lip and furrowed my brows. Albarn? Kami was right, that was my mother's name. But Albarn? Her maiden name was Sakura. Her current last name was changed when she married Jake Turner, my dad. So where did Albarn come from? I had to either be missing something, or they had to have put in the wrong last name by accident.

Still, that didn't change the fact that the invitation was sent from DWMA to our address. I had some questioning to do. I stuffed the invitation along with the envelope into my pocket before stepping out of the office.

My mom came home from work later that day and I came into the kitchen to make her a cup of tea. She was already sitting at the table, reading a magazine.

"Hey, Mama," I said, placing the kettle down on the stove and igniting it.

"Hey, sweetie," she answered, looking up and shooting me a smile, "how was school today?"

"Oh, fine," I said, biting my lip nervously. I had to ask her about that invitation. But I didn't want to make it too obvious. I didn't want her to know I had been snooping around her things.

"Any tests I should know about?" she asked.

"Well, I got an A on the chemistry test," I replied.

"Hm? What kind of A?"

"A 90…," I muttered guiltily.

"Maka! Just a 90? That's practically just a B!" she cried, "When I was your age I got hundreds on all of my chem exams."

"Well, I'll bet _your_ chem teacher was better than mine. He puts stuff on the test that we didn't even learn!"

"Well _my_ chemistry professor was—" she started, but sighed. "Never mind. Just get a better grade next time. I want my daughter to be just as smart as I was," she said with a smile and a wink.

This was my opportunity. We were having a casual conversation about school, nothing more perfect for asking about hers. "You always say your were at the top of your class," I said casually, "was your school big or small? Because it couldn't have been very hard if your class was small."

"Well my school was…normal," she started slowly. "I mean, the class was average-sized," my mom finished, nodding to herself. Lies.

"Really?" I asked sarcastically. "I don't think DWMA is a very 'normal' school."

My mom whirled her head towards me and looked at me, eyes wide. "What?" she asked, trying to sound calm. I flinched.

"I know you're lying. You didn't go to some _normal _school, you went to DWMA," I said firmly.

"Maka that's ridiculous," she said with a fake laugh, "DWMA is for weapons and meisters. What would I have been doing there?"

"I don't know," I murmured, putting a hand in my pocket to touch the envelope before whipping it out between my middle and index fingers for her to see, "why don't you ask them." I flipped the envelope so that the words _Kami Albarn_ faced her. Her eyes widened before her eyebrows slanted downward.

"Where did you get that?" she asked icily.

"Your office."

"You went into my office?!"she cried.

"You went to DWMA?!" I yelled, mocking her previous tone. This seemed to make her snap as she lunged at me, well, the paper.

"You give that to me, Maka Turner!"

"Maka Turner or Maka _ALBARN_?!" I cried. This made my mother freeze. I blinked

"Wh-what? Maka, what do you know?" she growled harshly.

"Nothing beyond what I read on this invitation," I replied angrily. It pissed me off that she didn't tell me any of this before. And judging by her reaction, she never did intend for me to know she went to DWMA. Besides that, it seemed as though the name Albarn had some meaning to her. I would always tell her everything. I'd always thought she and I were very close. I guess I'd just found how distant we really were.

My mom cussed under her breath as she stepped away from me and sat down, putting her hands to her temples. She sighed. "Maka, please just go to your room. Forget this whole stupid thing," she muttered in a wavering voice.

Was she kidding? Just telling me to leave something so big hanging? "No!" I shouted. I was determined to find out what was going on. "Tell me why the invitation says Kami_ Albarn_." I demanded.

"Maka…"

"No! You _will_ tell me just what the _hell_ is going on!"

She looked at me with saddened eyes but I held my ground and stared at her firmly. Finally she sighed in defeat, "Fine…I'll tell you. I should've known this was going to happen someday," she pinched the bridge of her nose, "I _did_ go to DWMA. I was a meister. That means you're one too. And, like I said, I _was_ at the top of my class, one of the best."

There was a short silence before I asked lightly, "So, why didn't you tell me? I mean, I don't see the problem." Her eyes hardened and her lips pressed firmly.

"You didn't need to know. Besides, talking about it brings back bad memories."

"What?"

She sighed. "When you're a meister, you get paired up with a weapon. Well, mine was a scythe named _Spirit_," she spat, narrowing her eyes. "He became my partner after DWMA split him from his previous one. And I was stupid enough to actually fall in love with him. After I made him a Deathscythe, we had you and then we got married." I felt my eyes widen.

"Wait, so…"

"Spirit Albarn is your real father," she finished for me.

I let that sink in. All my life, I had no idea. I felt a burning sensation in my gut, I felt a snap. I had no idea. Angry tears stung in the corners of my eyes. _No idea._

"And you never told me?!" I shouted angrily. "You were never going to let me know! How can you not tell me about this?!" I cried, infuriated.

"Maka, calm down."

"How can I be calm right now?! I think I've had the right to know that Da—Jake isn't my real dad! I think I've had the right to know that I'm a meister!" I cried. I whirled around and stomped off to my room. "I hate liars," I shouted, tears spilling down my cheeks. I had the right to know about my real father, I had the right to be able to meet my real father, and I had the right to be able to go to DWMA if I was a meister. It wasn't fair for her not to tell me. It wasn't fucking fair.

In a haze of rage and tears, I yanked out a hiking backpack and blindly stuffed some clothes, underwear, and socks into it. I stomped downstairs into the kitchen and threw in a couple of water bottles and snacks. Finally, I grabbed a tin can with my secret stash of money and stomped over to the door. My mom stood in front of it. I crossed my arms, breathing hard to vent my anger, fighting back more tears.

"Maka, you're overreacting!" my mother cried, tears streaming down her face. "Don't do this!"

I ground my teeth and turned around, "Fine! If you're blocking this exit, I'll take the back door," I said and made a run for it before she could grab my arm to stop me. I reached the back door and threw it open. I ran outside, making my way up the driveway and onto the sidewalk. I looked up to see that Jake was parking his car. I glanced briefly at his face through the car's windshield to see that his brows her furrowed and his mouth slightly agape.

"MAKA!" I heard, but my thoughts were drowning out everything. I ran. I had no idea what I was doing or where exactly I was going. All I knew was if I ran, I could get away from the lies and towards the truth.

Eventually, I ended up at some public park, not even in my town. My tears had long since dried and I thought back to how childishly I acted. But there was no stopping now. I took out the crumpled party invitation from my pocket. DWMA. I had to go there. That's where I belonged. I'm a meister, after all. I figured I could probably manage to get to Nevada, where the school was located, if I took buses. It would be a long trip, but where else was I to go if there was no turning back? I picked myself up off the bench despite my fatigue from both mental and physical exhaustion and slung my pack on my shoulders. I looked to the setting sun and started walking.


	2. Getting There

_It was a Friday afternoon when a small girl sporting a red dress was stuffing her favorite toys and picture books into a blue backpack. Her blonde hair was tied back into pigtails, the fashionable hairstyle at her age. Her frown marred her otherwise adorable face as she grumbled. She started zipping up the backpack before pausing and scurrying over to her closet and pulling out her favorite shirt from the bottom of the pile on the low shelf, making the other clothing articles fall to the floor as the girl ran back to her pack and stuffed the shirt in._

_ She decided she would run away. That'll show them. She had gotten into an argument with her kindergarten teacher that day and got in trouble. Her mother had found out and scolded her, saying that she wasn't allowed to watch TV for the next few days. The little girl was sent to her room where she proceeded to pound the pillow at the wall in her rage._

_ She put her arms through the straps of the backpack and stood up. She looked ridiculous with the overstuffed pack protruding from her backside as she stomped over to the front door. She glanced back to see that her mother was sitting at the kitchen table sipping a cup of tea. Her mother looked up to see her daughter whirl around and continue her way to the door._

_ "And where are you going, Miss Maka Turner?" she asked, amused._

_ The girl turned her head back slightly before answering haughtily, "I'm running away."_

_ "Oh really? And why is that?"_

_ "Because you're mean!" At her mother's laughter, the little girl frowned harder._

_ "Well, if you run away, you won't get any cookies," said her mother with a sly grin. The girl instantly perked up._

_ "Cookies?" she asked hopefully. Her eyes widened and a smile spread across her face when her mother took out a pack of the sweet treats from the cupboard, waving it in the air. The little girl threw the backpack off, leaving it forgotten on the floor as she ran to the kitchen where her mother was placing cookies on a small plate for her._

_**-**_**Maka-**

She knew what she did was rather childish. Running away from home because her mother never told her about going to DWMA or about Spirit Albarn instead of just talking it out like an adult. She had often threatened to do something like this when she was a kid, usually for silly reasons and only to try and gain attention. But, she did sometimes tend to do stupid things when she was upset.

It was now approximately two days since she'd left and after hours upon hours of tiring bus travel, Maka was stumped. She had made it to Nevada but she now faced the issue of how to cross the blistering hot deadly desert, in order to get to Death City. There was no direct car route. The only way in was to walk. At least for her. Anyone with a car could get there with no problem. She, however, had nothing, not even a map. She obviously hadn't thought things through very well.

She sighed. The bus had dropped Maka off at a small town that was apparently the nearest to Death City. She had long since consumed all the snacks she'd packed and was getting pretty hungry. She turned to a small coffee shop. The dry morning air was still but slightly chilled, sending small shivers down her body as she walked. She entered the shop, the small bells on the door jingling as it closed behind her. She ordered a large coffee and a bagel sandwich with eggs and bacon, her first real meal since her trip began. As she sat down with her food, she noticed an employee cleaning the table next to hers.

"Excuse me," she started. He looked up at her. He was dark skinned, sporting glasses, and looked to be in his mid teens.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Um, do you know how to get to Death City from here?" she asked. He looked at her and his brows shot up.

"Huh? You're a meister? Or are you a weapon?" he asked.

"Um, well, I'm a meister," she answered meekly.

"Awesome, I haven't met one around here in a while," he said.

"Um, yeah, but anyway, Death City?"

"Oh, right," he said with a flick of his wrist. "Well, lucky for you, I look out for potential DWMA students by working here. So, I'll call them and get us a ride since you obviously don't have one," he grinned, whipping out a portable mirror from his pocket. She looked up at him and cocked a brow. He must've caught her glance because he heaved a sigh and said "I'm not gay, okay? It's just the way we call Shinigami-sama," he explained.

She giggled, "I didn't say anything." Maka watched as the boy puffed on the mirror, making it fog up and squiggle a few numbers on. The mirror began to ring, much to her surprise, before it revealed a skull mask.

"Yo, yo, wussup~!" she heard a goofy voice say

"Hey, Shinigami-sama," he greeted before turning around, blocking the mirror from Maka's view. Pouting shortly at not being able to see the legendary Shinigami, Maka quickly gulped down the rest of her breakfast. She really was lucky to have run into him. Otherwise she really would've had to walk through that dreaded desert.

"So?" she asked throwing away the grease-soaked wax paper and empty coffee cup.

"Someone'll be here in a few minutes," he stated.

"Cool. Hey, I never caught your name."

"Pot of Fire and Thunder meister, Killik," he said extending a hand. She shook it.

"Maka," she stated slowly. "Um, pot of fire and thunder?" she asked as they exited the coffee shop.

"Oh, yeah they're my weapons, Fire and Thunder. They basically turn into these giant metal fists that shoot out fire and lighting," he said with a grin. Maka had heard of various weapon types such as scythes, guns, and knives, but she'd never really heard of something quite like this.

"That's so cool," she breathed, her eyes practically sparkling with wonder. She'd focused so much on getting to Death City, but hadn't really thought about what she would do there. Getting into DWMA was a given, but beyond that?

"So, you a runaway or something?" he asked. Maka faltered and visibly stiffened before looking back at him guiltily.

"Yeah…"

"It's cool, man," he chuckled, giving her a reassuring pat on the back. "There're a lot of kids who do that at DWMA."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"Wait, but does DWMA tell their parents?" she questioned cautiously. She certainly didn't want her mother to know where she was after taking care to yank out her phone's battery, rip the SIM card in two, and throw the device itself away so that she couldn't be tracked.

"Nope, only with the student's permission. It's the policy," Killik answered. "So you're good."

"Oh," Maka nodded just as black van with a skull logo pulled up in front of them.

"That's our ride," Killik stated as he beckoned for her to follow him to the van. A tall man with blue skin and navy blue tattoos wrapping around his arms came around the vehicle and slid open the side door to reveal a few rows of seats.

"Opening doors for pretty young ladies, that's the kind of man I was," the blue-skinned man grunted. Maka smiled up at him cautiously as she got in the van, still eyeing his lack of lips and his peculiar skin color. Killik followed suit and the man closed the door behind him and started going back around to the driver's seat.

"In case you were wondering, that's Sid. He's a teacher at DWMA. Oh, and he's a zombie too. But that's okay, he doesn't bite," Killik explained, chortling at his own lame joke. Maka rolled her eyes with a small smile.

The car ride was short and relatively unscenic. Soon enough, Maka found herself in front of the impressive and gigantic school building.

"Whoa," she breathed, eyes wide and mouth agape in awe. She stared up at the stunning architecture.

"Welcome to DWMA," Killik grinned, motioning towards the building.

"Um, so what do I do now?" Maka asked, still taking in her surroundings.

"Follow me, I'll take you to the Shinigami room," he said already a few steps ahead of her. Maka went after him eagerly. She was finally going to meet _the_ Shinigami-sama. She had only heard of his power and rule in some books she had read, but now she was going to see it first-hand.

After winding through the complicated hallway system, the two finally reached the door. It opened to reveal a path under a row of arcs on which hung sharp guillotine blades. Maka looked around her as they walked along the stone path. Eventually, they reached a room that seemed to reflect the sky. Fluffy clouds floated across the floor. Maka reached down to touch one, grinning wildly when she found that its texture was more like that of cotton than vaporized water. She hurried after Killik and he led her to a platform with a tall mirror set at the top of it. When he stopped in front of it, she shot him a quizzical look.

"Well, looks like Shinigami-sama isn't here at the moment. That's not a problem though," he remarked before exhaling on the mirror, causing it to fog up. He wrote the numbers 42 42 564 and the mirror began to ring. A figure with a skull mask and huge boxy white hands popped up.

"Yo, yo, wussup~?!" a voice said, with evident amusement.

"Hello Shinigami-sama, I brought the girl I was talking about," he said, gesturing towards her.

Snapping out of her curious stare, Maka looked at the masked figure meekly, "A-ah, hello," she said, bowing slightly out of respect. Though he seemed harmless with his friendly goofy voice and simple boxy white hands, he was still the most feared harbinger of death.

"Relax, relax," Shinigami-sama insisted, "What's your name?"

"M-Maka," she answered nervously, folding her hands behind her back.

"Well then, Maka, welcome to DWMA! It's always good to receive more students. After all, our mission must be carried out by someone! Well I trust that you understand some of the basics of DWMA, but it's always good to hear about things in more detail, hm?" he cleared his throat and continued, "I established this school to prevent kishins from being born and spreading madness about. The meister-weapon teams fight together to kill all potential kishins whose souls are known as kishin eggs. Weapons are able to consume these corrupted souls. The weapon and its meister work together to collect 99 kishin egg souls and one soul of a witch to turn the weapon into a Deathscythe and be used as the personal weapon of yours truly. So as you can see, the whole soul collecting fiasco is like killing two birds with one stone; getting rid of potential kishins and working to become my weapon," Shinigami-sama explained.

"I see," Maka murmured thinking about just how much she couldn't wait to get started.

"Killik tells me you're a meister."

"Oh, y-yes," she stuttered, ripped from her thoughts.

"Wonderful, wonderful~!" Shinigami-sama gushed. "Killik, please show Maka to the girls' dormitory. I'm assuming you don't have a place to stay, hm?"

"Oh, uh, no," she said.

"That's fine. You can stay in the dorms until you can rent an apartment~!" Shinigami-sama said. "Well then, Killik, I'll leave the rest to you." The mirror returned to normal and the death god's figure disappeared.

"Follow me," said Killik, jerking his head to the exit. Maka followed him down to the basement and he pointed to a door a little further down the cold stone hallway. "There's the girls' dorm," he announced. "Well, I'll see you around then."

"Thanks. See you!" she smiled and with a wave of her hand began heading towards the door.

**A/N: You should review. Reviewing is good. Always good. Always.**

**Good.**


	3. Getting Along

** -Maka-**

I turned and faced the door to the girls' dorm. Stepping towards it, I reached for the silver doorknob. I barely brushed my fingers on it before it swung open, smacking straight into my nose.

"GAH!" I screamed, immediately clutching my aching nose as I stumbled back a step and fell to the cold stone floor on my bum.

"Huh? What?" asked a feminine voice. A girl with pink hair cut short and blue eyes emerged from inside and looked at me. Her eyes widened in realization and she smacked a hand over her mouth. "Omigosh! I'm so sorry!" She rushed over to me and helped me up while apologizing over and over again.

"Ouch," I mumbled, wincing as I poked my nose tenderly to assess the damage. It hurt like hell, in case you wanted to know.

"I'm really, really, _really_ sorry! Come inside, I'll get my friend to go to the nurse's office to get some ice," she said, grabbing my wrist.

"It's okay. Thank you," I said, shooting her a smile, hoping it'll make her feel less guilty. It wasn't like she'd seen me and done it on purpose.

"You're new, right? What's your name?" the girl questioned, leading me through the door.

"Maka," I replied.

"Nice to meet you, Maka, I'm Kim Diehl," she said, offering friendly smile which I returned. We entered a large room with rows and rows of beds. The walls were painted white and the room felt much warmer than the chilly basement hallways just outside of it. All the girls inside were around my age and they were either hanging around their beds or lounging in a small sitting area at the far right-hand corner of the room.

Kim tapped my shoulder lightly and I turned towards her. She motioned towards an empty bed. The cream-colored covers looked crisp and clean, and all I wanted to do was crawl under them and shut my eyes because two days of sleeping on old, smelly bus seats wasn't exactly very restful.

"This is where you'll be sleeping, Maka," she stated.

"Okay," I said, throwing my backpack off next to the bed and sitting down, making the mattress squeak.

"Jacqueline! Can you get an ice pack from the nurse? I kind of smashed the door on the newbie's face," Kim told a girl with jet black hair and chocolate-colored almond shaped eyes.

"Good going, Kim," she giggled. "I'll be right back, then." She walked out of the room, her hair swishing soundlessly behind her.

"So," Kim started, turning my attention back to her, "are you a meister or a weapon?"

"I'm a meister," I said, beaming proudly. The more I said it, the prouder I was of it.

"Me too," she revealed, grinning.

"So, do you have a weapon?" I asked.

"No. No one here has a weapon yet. We still have to train and learn before we choose partners," she explained, shrugging her shoulders.

"Oh," I mumbled, slightly disappointed. I'd been so excited to get started and get a partner.

"Yeah, once we get partners we get out of this dorm and move into our own houses or apartments and stuff."

"That's cool. So do you live with your partner when you get one?"

"Yep. It's basically required."

"Nice," I remarked, "So what kind of training do we do?"

"Well meisters and weapons have different types of training since they have different jobs during a fight. So which would you like to hear about?" Kim joked.

"Meister training, duh," I giggled.

"We go through obstacle courses and learn how to fight without a weapon in case of an emergency in a battle and stuff. When we get out partners we do training with them and once we're ready, we'll be able to go on real missions," Kim explained dreamily.

"Awesome."

"Right?!" Kim squealed.

"Kim!" shouted Jacqueline, making her way towards us with a plastic bag of ice, "Got the ice!"

"Thanks," I said when she plopped the bag into my hands. I pressed it to my still stinging nose.

"Anytime," she said, "What's your name?"

"Maka."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Jacqueline, but call me Jacky," she greeted.

We spent the rest of the day making casual conversation and I was glad I'd managed to make some friends on my first day. I was able to get an idea of how things worked around DWMA. Breakfast and Dinner were served in the cafeteria just for our class since the other classes had already moved out of the dorms with their partners. Lunch was shared with all the classes during school hours. All I had left to do now was go to my first day of class.

**-The Next Morning: Maka-**

Breakfast was a huge buffet full of all kinds of breakfast foods such as eggs, bacon, oatmeal, pancakes, muffins, cereal, and all that good stuff. After grabbing our food, Kim, Jacky, and I sat down together at an empty table and dug in. Breakfast was co-ed, so I was able to see Killik standing in line for toast along with two identical kids. Apparently, Killik was in our class, which I didn't understand because he already had two weapons. As it turned out, they were already a team before arriving at DWMA and were placed in our class for further training.

While Kim, Jacky, and I were talking, Killik and his weapons, along with two other guys, came to sit with us. One of the guys, who was wearing swirly glasses and had his hair styled into two ridiculous pillars, sat down next to Kim. She rolled her eyes in annoyance and continued talking to Jacky. The other guy had laser glasses and dark hair pulled into a short ponytail. He slid into the seat next to his practically bald friend. Killik sat down, the twins taking their places on either side of him.

"'Sup guys?" Killik greeted.

"Hey Killik," I said, shooting him a grin.

"Ready for your fist day of class?" he asked.

"Yep, I can't wait!"

"That's good," he chuckled.

"So, what's your name," I asked the guy with the weird glasses, snapping him out of his trance of staring at Kim.

"Oh, me? My name's Ox Ford," he announced. "You must be Maka."

"Yeah, that's me," I confirmed, cocking a brow at his recognition of me.

"Killik told me he found you in town yesterday," he explained.

"Oh, yeah, he did."

"Well, this is my bud, Harvar," Ox introduced, gesturing to the boy with the laser glasses. Harvar gave a short, nonchalant wave. I smiled at him.

"Nice to meet you guys," I said.

"Well, I figured you ought to know the names of the future best meister-weapon team of all time," Ox boasted proudly.

"Really?" I asked skeptically with a challenging smile. "We'll see about that. What kind of weapon are you?"

"Who me?" Ox asked before shaking his head, "No, no. Harvar's the weapon. He's a lightning staff."

"That's cool."

Breakfast ended a half hour later and everyone began making their way towards class. I followed my friends into a classroom with a college-style setup. A man with gray hair and a giant screw lodged in his head came up to me. I stared at him. I mean, first a blue skinned zombie teacher, and now some stitched up guy with a screw rammed through his skull? Things just got weirder and weirder, didn't they?

"Are you the new student, Maka?" he asked. His eyes scanned me up and down and I could've sworn there was a short flash of recognition in his eyes.

"Um, yes," I replied, uncomfortable under his examining gaze. I sensed that he was someone powerful. I should probably be careful not to piss him off.

"Please stand out here, then. I will be with you in a moment. My name is Dr. Stein and I will be your Soul Studies and Science teacher," he explained and he made his way to a wheeled office chair and rolled in the front of the classroom. "Alright class, please take your seats."

As I waited outside, I heard footsteps echoing from down the hall. I turned my head and, sure enough, a figure was making its way in my direction. It was a guy with snowy white hair, slouching heavily with his hands stuffed in his pockets. He was wearing dark jeans and a leather jacket. Something about him made me feel intimidated. As though he radiated danger. When his eyes shifted towards mine, I shot my gaze down to the floor and busied myself with twiddling the end of my skirt. The footsteps got closer and closer until I felt he was right next to me. Looking up, I saw that he was taller than me by a good few inches. His blood red eyes peered down through his colorless bangs. We stared at each other like that for about a nanosecond before he entered the classroom, leaving me alone once more.

"Late again, Soul Eater?" asked Dr. Stein, quirking a brow toward the boy's direction. I frowned at the unusual name. I mean, _Soul Eater?_ "Anyway, class, we have a new student as some of you may have noticed. Her name is Maka, and I hope you'll all welcome her and all that jazz," he droned and then looked over to me, "Alright, you may come in."

I stepped inside and stood in front of the class. "Um, hello, my name is Maka and I'm a meister. It's nice to meet you all," I announced, introducing myself. Looking around, I saw many friendly smiles. It was good to see that there seemed to be a lot of friendly people here. I looked up to see the guy from the hallway giving me an icy stare. I frowned slightly. What was his problem?

"Alright, Maka, please take a seat next to Soul Eater up there," said Dr. Stein, motioning towards the white haired boy. I gulped, remembering the intimidating aura the guy seemed to give off. I started walking up to the seat beside his. He was sitting at the very top corner and my guess was that the skipped seat next to his was left empty on purpose. I sat down in it and turned to Soul.

"Um, hi," I greeted meekly. He turned his head towards me and looked at me with hardened eyes. It was so strange to see their warm, fiery color look so frigid as he shot icicles into my eyes. I gulped and turned around nervously. People were glancing at us, whispering urgently to each other with concerned faces. That couldn't be a good sign

Eventually, lunchtime rolled in and I made my way towards my friends.

"Hey guys," I grinned.

"Hey," Jacky greeted before turning to everyone and shouting to start heading to the cafeteria. We got our food and sat down in the grass outside to eat.

"So, Maka, do you wanna go shopping with us later?" suggested Jacky, "You don't seem to have brought a lot of clothes with you."

"Sounds good," I replied, taking a bite out of my sandwich.

"So, how'd you end up here?" Ox asked, "If Killik found you, you're probably a runaway, right?"

"Well, yeah," I sighed, "I guess I could tell you guys." I explained how my mother had kept the fact that she'd gone to DWMA and that I was a meister a secret. I talked about how she had married her weapon and had me before getting divorced and marrying Jake Turner and that I was here to become a meister and find out more about my birth father. When I mentioned my two days of bus travel with limited food and no showering, their noses crinkled and agreed that it sucked.

"You're not the only one who's run away," Harvar started a few moments after I'd finished my story. "I did too," he admitted, taking a deep breath. "My father was a weapon, but he never went to DWMA. He used to get drunk a lot and basically used me as his personal punching bag," he said darkly, jaw and fists clenching tightly. "He was a lightning staff, like me. I was constantly covered in electrocution burns and people started questioning it. Around the end of eighth grade, I was taken to the school guidance office. I didn't want to talk about it and I didn't want anyone to know. They wouldn't have understood," he explained, shifting himself into a more comfortable sitting position. "I ended up running out on them and getting home to grab a few things before getting out of that hellhole. I used to live in a big city, so there were a bunch of street gangs there and a couple of those assholes cornered me one night." I felt my eyes widen, waiting for him to continue his tale. "That's when I found out that I was a weapon, so I was able to get out of there fine. I came to DWMA since I heard they trained weapons and I didn't really have any other place to go anyway. Best decision I'd ever made in my life," he smiled. "I'm pretty sure you'll like it here, too."

I smiled back at him just as I felt a familiar intimidating presence. Looking over to a nearby stone path, sure enough, there was Soul Eater. Everyone followed my gaze.

"Soul Eater, huh?" said Killik, nodding his head gravely.

"What?" I asked, questioning everyone's somewhat negative reactions.

"Well, a lot of newbie girls think he's hot or whatever," Killik explained.

"Oh…well I guess I can see where they're coming from..." I said, observing Soul's uniquely handsome features. His stark white hair contrasted nicely with his tan skin and his crimson eyes made him look, dare I say it…sexy? He probably would have looked a lot better if he'd actually smile.

"I suggest you don't go after him," Ox stated.

"What? No! I wasn't even thinking that!" I said frantically, tearing my gaze off of Soul, "But if so many girls are interested in him, why don't they talk to him?"

"Well, Soul isn't exactly the friendliest guy. See, he's dangerous," Kim pointed out.

"Dangerous?" I asked. Seemingly intimidating, yes. But dangerous?

"Ever since he's arrived at DWMA, he hasn't made a single friend. If someone messed with him, he'd beat the shit out of them," said Jacqueline, a serious expression hardening her pretty face. I gulped. Maybe I _shouldn't_ have tried to talk to him.

"No friends? Not even people trying to join forces with him?" I asked. I could see why annoying, troublemaking kids would try to team up with him to wreak havoc. He seemed cool and collected. His intimidating aura would only add to the perfect image of a leader of student rebels. There were dumbasses like that everywhere, no doubt in DWMA as well.

"Yeah, people have tried. But they got their asses kicked by Soul and he told them not to fuck with him again," explained Killik.

"Rumor has it that Soul was a runaway and he was in a bunch of street gangs before coming here," Kim stated in a low voice, glancing warily at the stone path where Soul was getting closer to them.

"On top of that, he's a weapon," Jacqueline whispered, "making him all the more dangerous."

"What kind?" I asked, shooting a quick look at Soul, who passed by smoothly without so much as giving us a glance.

"According to rumors he's some kind of blade," said Harvar.

"I see."

Lunch came to an end and I returned to the classroom and sat back down in my seat as Soul did in his. I decided that I wouldn't look or speak to him anymore. I didn't want trouble. I took out a book and started reading it, ignoring the lesson since I had already learned it at my old school.

My old school, huh…? No! I couldn't think about home! I didn't want to get all sentimental; I wanted to focus more on my new school and new life. Yeah…

"Maka!" I snapped up.

"Yes?" I asked, letting my thoughts melt away and giving my full attention to the teacher addressing me.

"Please report to the Shinigami room."

"Okay." I got out of my seat and realized I had to slip past Soul to get out of the row. I told myself not to look at him, not to spare him a single glance, but my eyes betrayed me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Soul shift his gaze at me, making my heart race. He promptly turned his attention back to the front of the room and I silently let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

Stepping out of the classroom, it occurred to me that I had no idea how to get to the Shinigami room in the first place. After all, the only time I'd gone I was led by Killik. This school was basically a labyrinth. It would be hell to try and find it alone.

Lucky for me a random student was on her way back from the bathroom. I asked her for directions and she pointed them out for me. I thanked her and walked off to where she said the Shinigami room was. Managing to get there without too much confusion, I swung the door open and began walking down the path of guillotine blades. I saw the familiar platform with the tall mirror, except this time, Shinigami-sama himself was standing upon it.

"Oh, hello, hello, Maka~!" he greeted, raising a boxy white hand.

"Hello, Shinigami-sama," I bowed respectfully.

"How are things going so far? Have you made any friends yet?"

"Yes," I answered, beaming.

"Very good, very good!" he cried cheerfully, "Friends are very important here at DWMA, it's good that you've made some already!" he nodded. "Now then, Maka, it's required that all new students are medically examined. I made sure that you'd have your medical evaluation during this class. You have a normal school subject now, correct?"

"Yes."

"Good~! You won't miss anything too important, then! Now, when you're done with your evaluation with our nurse, Medusa, you will have your soul evaluated by Dr. Stein," he explained.

"Okay," I nodded. I heard footsteps coming towards us and I turned around to see a woman with short blonde hair, two golden strands twisted together in the front.

"You called, Shinigami-sama?" she asked smoothly.

"Ah, yes. Maka, this is the school nurse, Ms. Medusa," he introduced.

"Hello Maka," Medusa greeted, offering a small smile.

"Hello," I said back.

"Medusa, please take Maka to get her medical evaluation."

"Yes, sir," she said and turned to me. "Come along, Maka. I'll take you to the infirmary."

We walked together silently into a hospital-like area and she led me inside what looked to be her office.

"Sit down here. I'll be with you in just a moment," she said before leaving the small room, coming back after about two minutes with a medical kit and some paperwork. The evaluation went like a checkup at any doctor's office, plus some bloodwork.

"Alright, Maka, that's all I'm doing," she stated, gathering her papers, "I'll just fill out these and put them in your medical file."

"Okay."

"Oh, yes," she said at the doorway, "Dr. Stein will be right with you for your soul evaluation."

As her footsteps got fainter, I wondered just how a soul evaluation would go…


	4. Soul examination

** -Maka-**

I sat there, in Medusa's medical office, gazing at the blank drop ceiling, anticipating the soul examination Dr. Stein was to do on me. I had no idea what it was going to be like. Sighing, I reached into the school bag DWMA had provided for me, and searched the hidden pocket to take out my mom's crumpled party invitation. I stared at the name on the front of the envelope. _Kami Albarn_. I felt a wave of regret swell in my chest. Maybe I was being ridiculous when I ran away. Remembering my mother's tears as she pleaded for me to stay, I clutched the paper harder, hearing it crinkle as I bit my lip. I came for answers. I needed to find this Spirit Albarn character. Just who was he? And why did he drive his relationship with my mom to divorce?

A rolling sound broke me from my thoughts. I folded up the paper and returned it to the pocket in my bag. The moment I sat back up, Dr. Stein, on his wheelie chair, rolled too quickly into the doorway and his chair toppled over with him. I felt my brows quirk up in surprise.

"Um, are you alright, sir?" I asked nervously, standing up and taking a step towards him.

"Yes, yes," he said hastily with a wave of his hand. "Now then, go ahead and sit down." I complied as he sat himself on his chair backwards. He took out a pack of cigarettes, took one and lit it. Interesting, of all places to smoke he chose a school medical office. "Alright then, I'm going to use my soul perception ability to take a look at your soul," he explained, taking a puff.

"Soul perception?" I questioned. "What's that?"

He grinned wickedly before explaining, "See, with this ability I am able to sense and see souls. My perception is quite advanced, however, so I am also able to figure out a person's personality and their soul's abilities."

"I see."

He nodded and reached into his lab coat's pocket to take out some folded papers. He reached over to a pencil can on Medusa's desk and began to scribble on the sheets. Turning back to me, I could've sworn I saw his glasses flash. The awkward silence was beginning to put me on edge. I saw him move his hand up to the screw in his and he began to slowly turn it, making the small room fill with the sound of a rotating gear. I bit my lip nervously, watching him stare at me with a blank look, when suddenly I saw a huge blue orb surrounding him.

My eyes widened at the spectacle before me: Dr. Stein remained where he was, sitting on his chair, but the blue sphere surrounded him, sporting stitches and a gigantic plasma screw. I opened my mouth and moistened my lips. Seeing me, he seemed to snap out of his trance and raise a brow.

"W-what is th-that _thing_ surrounding you?" I asked in alarm.

"What do you mean?" he asked, cocking his head to the side as he turned his screw again.

"The sphere surrounding you! What is it?!" I cried. Dr. Stein turned his screw once more and it clicked loudly, his lips curling into a grin.

"Ah, Miss Maka, what you are looking at is simply my soul," he stated.

"Your soul?"

"Yes," he nodded. "If you are able to see my soul, that means you have the same Soul Perception ability I have," he revealed.

"Wow," I breathed.

"Of course, souls aren't usually this big," he remarked, gesturing to the orb that took up an entire third of the office. "Mine has been trained to be very powerful, resulting in its large size."

I nodded, in lack of a better response.

"Now then, Maka, you may return to class while I finish filling out these papers."

"Thank you, sir!" I said, smiling widely. I grabbed my things and left.

**-Stein-**

As Maka left the medical office, Stein turned back to the unfolded papers he had to fill out. He smiled as he started twisting he screw in his head again.

"That girl…Soul Perception _and_ an Anti-Demon Wavelength. She's just like her mother…and may even be the key necessary to unlock Soul Eater..."

**-Maka (After School)-**

Maka, along with Kim and Jacqueline, were walking back together to the girls' dorm, complaining about the piles of homework their teachers had given them. Once they arrived, the girls flopped onto Maka's bed and relaxed.

"So, Maka, what do you think of DWMA?" asked Kim, rolling onto her stomach and folding her hands under her chin.

"It's great!" Maka answered smiling brightly.

"Yeah, but it's too bad we have a training day tomorrow," sighed Jacqueline, flipping her raven-colored hair over her shoulder.

"What's that like?" Maka asked curiously.

"Well, instead of going to normal classes, during training days we go to the athletic fields," explained Kim, "Meisters and weapons go to separate areas. Basically, we do your usual survival training and stuff."

"Awesome! I'm so excited!" Maka squealed, her sparkling emerald eyes reflecting her enthusiasm.

"It's kind of embarrassing, though, since our P.E. uniforms are freakin' athletic bloomers(*)," Jackie huffed, "Makes us look like we're strutting around in underwear."

Maka giggled as she reached into her bag to take out her homework assignments. Kim and Jackie followed suit and the three girls worked together while snickering and teasing Kim about Ox being her stalker lover.

When the dinner bell rang, the three hopped off the bed and followed all the other girls into the cafeteria. They met up with Ox, Killik, the twins, and Harvar along the way. Like Breakfast, Dinner was served buffet style, offering foods such as mashed potatoes, chicken, and a variety of vegetables. The group sat together and as the meal went on, Maka noticed the boy with the snowy hair sitting by himself in a dark corner of the cafeteria. His dark hoodie was pulled over his head, making him look gloomy and lonely as he picked at his food, foot tapping to the beat of whatever was playing through his headphones. She genuinely felt bad for him, watching him eat his meal without any friends to converse with.

"What's wrong, Maka," asked Ox, seeing that she'd been staring blankly behind her for a while.

"Nothing," she insisted, turning back to her plate quickly.

"Maka!" exclaimed Kim. "We're gonna go shopping tomorrow. You coming with?"

"Sure thing," she agreed with a grin.

"Cool. We'll probably be going around 5:30 or six," said Jackie as-a-mater-of-factly.

"Why?" Maka asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Well, since tomorrow's a training day, we'll be beat by the time school's over. Of course, we've gotta shower since we'll be pretty gross, and after a shower, you tend to involuntarily pass out for a nap," said Jacqueline.

Maka nodded in understanding before asking, "So where would we go? Shopping, I mean."

"Well, there are a few good clothing stores I was planning on going to. I was also thinking about going to the bookstore," Kim stated.

"Maybe we could stop at Deathbucks," Jackie suggested.

"Sounds cool," said Maka, thinking about the amount of cash she had on her. She was fairly certain she had enough for a few shopping trips.

**-Maka (The Next Day: After Training)-**

"Omigosh, I feel dead. Can I _please_ have some of your water?" Kim begged Maka.

"Sure," she panted, handing Kim her water bottle as she wiped some sweat off her brow. Kim snatched it out of her hand and downed three large gulps.

"Thanks so much!" Kim said, smiling as she wiped some remaining water from the corner of her mouth. Maka gave a tired smile in reply. The training felt like hell, it being her first day, and she felt like passing out on the spot.

"C'mon guys, let's hit the showers," suggested Jackie when she reached them from the weapon training area. The three took their change of clothes and went to the girls' locker room showers. When they finished, feeling clean, but tired, they returned to the dorm. As soon as Maka touched her bed, she passed out, exhausted from the day's activity.

She didn't stir until an hour later, when Jackie gently shook her awake, telling her that they were going to head into town.

"So, Maka," Kim started when they finally walked off campus ", is this your first time out in Death City?"

"Yep," Maka responded, her eyes wandering, looking at the colorful buildings surrounding them.

The city looked simply breathtaking. The graffiti often seen painted on the stone walls of buildings and alleys looked artistic, as though someone put a lot of time and effort in its design and coloring. The streets and pathways reminded Maka of the ones seen in old European cities, paved in cobblestone and with practically no cars in sight. Ceramic pots filled with blooming flowers added color, while the lampposts that lined the streets gave off a warm yellow light. Though she was in a city, Maka couldn't help but feel the atmosphere to be one of a homey town.

"This place is so beautiful," Maka breathed, a smile plastered on her face. Kim giggled.

"Makes you feel right at home, doesn't it?" she said, grinning.

"Hey, guys, the bookstore's this way," they heard Jackie say, noticing she was ahead of them by a bit. Maka looked up to a two story building with a large sign that read _D City Books._ She gaped at the wonderland of literature when they stepped inside, looking around to see an elevator leading up to the second floor. She separated herself from her friends as she practically floated through the shelves upon shelves of books.

She emerged half an hour later carrying a fair sized bag of novels and volumes she knew she'd get to reading later. When she found Kim and Jacqueline, the three girls headed to Deathbucks, a nearby coffee shop, where they relaxed for a bit over warm drinks before returning to the dormitory for the night.

At breakfast the next day, Maka noticed Soul sitting in the same corner as the day before. He was, once again, listening to his music while distastefully picking at his plate of food. His dark jeans and black and red hoodie would've made him blend into the shadows if it weren't for his ruffled white hair. She stared at him curiously, wondering just why a silent guy like him would be considered so dangerous among everyone. Maybe he was just misunderstood and all the rumors were made up.

Later that afternoon, near the end of Soul Studies class, Dr. Stein called for everyone's attention.

"Class, I have an important announcement," he began. The class quieted down and he continued. "This year, DWMA has decided to try something different with this class level. You will all be assigned temporary partners that we see fit for your soul wavelengths and you will be required to live together for two months. This will help you prepare for living and functioning with your future partner, as well as helping you prepare for future missions." The class grumbled, complaining that they couldn't choose their own partners as Dr. Stein continued, "I will now announce the pairings." With that, the professor began reading off names from a list.

Maka waited, biting her lip in anticipation. She didn't exactly have a lot of friends yet, and she would most likely end up with someone she didn't know. So far, Kim was paired with Harvar and Jacqueline with Ox. Killik already had the twins, knocking her entire friend group off the potential partners list. That's when she heard it.

"Maka and Soul Eater."

**A/N: (*) In the manga, the students were shown wearing DWMA P.E. uniforms when they were getting timed for the 100 meter dash. The uniforms could also be seen in Ohkubo's side series, Soul Eater Not!**

**The girls have the option to wear either white tank tops (but they have thick straps, much like if you cut the sleeves off a T-shirt, they are colored but I'm not sure what color they are) or normal T-shirts (sleeves are colored like the straps of the tank tops) under white zip up turtleneck sweaters sporting a skull emblem on the back with a small black skull printed over their heart area on the front. Their bottoms are the kind you see in some animes (athletic bloomers) that look like brief underwear colored either black or navy blue. The girls in the Soul Eater Not! manga wear thigh-high white socks, however, the girls in the Soul Eater manga aren't shown to.**

**Guys share the same color scheme and jackets. Their bottoms are short shorts, like the ones that were worn a lot by men/boys in the 80s or by professional runners (like at the Olympics. Just look at their shorts. They're pretty short). In Soul Eater Not! a few boys are seen wearing longer sweatpants that reach a bit above their ankles having the same color as their shirt sleeves. They have the same shirt options as the girls do.**

**Wow, that was long and detailed. I actually went through big pains to get that information (as in searching both the Soul Eater and Soul Eater Not! mangas for the chapters where they show the damn uniforms).**


	5. Behind the Partnership

**-Maka-**

_"Maka and Soul Eater."_

Her head snapped up at those few words. Disbelief was painted on her face, brows slightly furrowed, eyes wide, and mouth ajar. Maka looked over to the white-haired boy next to her. He gave her a short glance and snorted. Whipping her head back to the front of the room, her eyes darted to where Kim and Jacqueline were sitting. They, too, were wide-eyed, looking over at her with worry and concern. Maka chewed on her lip.

Just how was she supposed to deal with this? She didn't know what to make of it. If it were as the rumors about him said, she was going to be living with a heartless ex-street gang member for the next two months. As Stein finished listing names, Maka cursed her life for being overly complicated for the past week.

"Quiet down, please," Stein said, raising his voice over the rowdy class, "There is absolutely _no_ switching or trading of partners allowed." The students that were trying to negotiate with each other stopped immediately, and Stein continued. "Alright, we have made arrangements for you all to stay at a larger dormitory nearby."

Maka pursed her mouth in confusion. She thought the only dorms DWMA had were the ones in the basement where the class was currently residing at. She waved the thought off to think about the more pressing issue at the moment: Her living with Soul Eater.

"Each pair will be assigned their own dorm and receive a credit card from DWMA. These cards are to be used to buy food _only_. DWMA will track your purchases, so if any one of you _dare_ to spend it either excessively or on non-food items, you will be severely punished," Stein said gravely. "You will live as though you are in your own individual home. You will cook your own meals and there will be a weekly dorm inspection to make sure you are clean and organized." Maka stole a glance at Soul. He had apparently put on his headphones and started listening to music with his eyes closed. He wasn't even listening! With that, Maka laid her head down on her desk, thinking about how it was going to be a very long two months.

Just a few hours later, the students had been given their assigned dorms and gotten their things packed to make the transfer to the dorm building just two blocks away from DWMA. Maka was beyond grateful that Kim's dorm was right next to hers so she could easily go over to hang out or talk.

At that moment, both she and Soul were standing in front of the door along with their sparse baggage. Maka wasn't able to fit all of her book purchases into her backpack, so she carried them in her arms.

"Well what are you gonna do? Just stand there? Open the fucking door, broad," Soul growled. Maka glared angrily at him.

"In case your stupid-ass brain hasn't processed, my hands are both occupied, so I can't open the 'fucking door'," she responded menacingly.

"Fine, bitch," he snarled, taking out the key he had been given earlier by Dr. Stein.

Maka huffed. So much for the sad-and-lonely-boy-in-the-corner theory. When Soul turned the key and kicked the door open, she stepped inside after him to find that their new accommodations were actually quite nice. There was a small kitchen, small living room, a bathroom, and two small bedrooms.

"Well, I guess we have to decide which rooms we're going to-" She was cut off by a loud slam of the bedroom door closest to the entrance. Maka ground her teeth and stomped to the farther bedroom and threw her things down. What a perfect asshole. The entire situation was _not_ coming off to a good start. She couldn't help but feel that _she_ was going to be the one doing all the work.

Deciding that maybe going out for a bit would clear her head, she dug into her pocket to pull out the provided food credit card. She figured she might as well go grocery shopping, they were supposed to cook their own meals, after all. And by 'they' she meant she.

Pulling on a light sweater, she began walking out, yelling a quick "_I'm going out, I'll be back in, like, two hours."_ Maka heard a muffled _"Don't give a shit."_ before closing the door behind her and taking in a deep breath to calm down her growing rage towards the damn guy. She walked over to Kim's door and knocked on it. The door flew open, revealing the pink-haired girl she'd been meaning to talk to.

"Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to go grocery shopping with me," said Maka.

Kim smiled, "Sure thing, let me just get my card real quick," she said, stalking off and coming back moment later, bearing her card so they could set off for the supermarket.

"So, how're things with Harvar?" Maka asked as their feet clomped against the cobblestone street outside.

"What do you mean?"

"You know, the whole temporary partners thing."

"He's okay, you know, it's Harvar. I mean it's not like he's gonna bother me and he'll help out and stuff. The only annoying thing about it is since he's friends with Ox, he'll be over our place a lot," said Kim, rolling her eyes.

"Right," Maka giggled.

"What about Soul?" Kim asked.

Maka's face soured, "He's a total _dickwad_!" she growled through clenched teeth. "I mean it's day one and he's already called me a bitch and I didn't even do anything. He's such an asshole!"

"Wow," Kim said, a look of sympathy crossing her face.

"At least Harvar's nice and polite. You're lucky," Maka sighed. "I'll probably end up doing _everything_ and he'll just be sitting there being a total asshat."

"It's just two months," Kim tried.

"Oh, _yeah,_" Maka mused sarcastically, "Just sixy days with that…that…," she sighed. "Sorry, I'm just really stressed out." Kim put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

The girls reached the supermarket and bought what they needed. Once they finished, the two walked back to the dormitory, carrying their purchases in large brown paper bags.

"Well then, Maka, I'll be going now," said Kim with a short wave before proceeding to knock on her door.

"Alright," Maka responded. Then, Kim's door flew open as Ox dramatically kneeled down on one knee and threw his arms into the air.

"Oh, Kim! I've been waiting for your return!" he bellowed. Maka chuckled at Kim's blush before taking out her key and opening the door to her own dorm. She stepped inside and walked into the kitchen, placing the groceries onto the small wooden table. She began putting food away into the empty fridge, leaving out a few ingredients she'd use to make dinner.

**-Stein-**

After Stein made sure all the students found their dorms, he'd gone back to the main school building. He entered the Shinigami room, where, luckily for him, a few DWMA staff members and Shinigami-sama were still waiting for him. He approached them, taking out a cigarette and lighting it.

"So," Stein began exhaling the wispy cigarette smoke, "do you think it will work?"

"You mean pairing up Maka and Soul?" asked a pretty blonde woman sporting an eye-patch.

"Yes," replied Stein, taking a drag.

"I'm not too sure about the idea. That boy is dangerous and we all know it!" she cried.

"No worries, Marie," Shinigami-sama said reassuringly.

"But-!" Marie started, but was cut off by the masked reaper.

"Maka is aware of the boy's dangers. She seems to be a smart girl, I'm sure she won't try anything silly," stated Shinigami-sama.

"But what if she does?" asked a dark-skinned woman, voice slightly muffled by the bandages wrapped over her mouth and nose.

"Well then! There's always the DWMA infirmary!" Shinigami-sama joked darkly. The atmosphere quickly turned heavy.

"Shinigami-sama, if you will, could you explain to us why exactly Maka needs to be the one to 'unlock' Soul Eater?" asked the bandage-clad woman, "She's only been here for several days."

"Well, Nygus, my dear, according to Professor Stein, Maka's soul appeared to be compatible with Soul's. Not only that, but she has an anti-demon wavelength, a soul perception ability, and her soul is a grigori type," explained Shinigami-sama, "It has the potential to become very powerful."

"A grigori type soul," Marie breathed. "Only one in fifty million people have that…"

"Exactly," said Stein with a grin, throwing the butt of his cigarette behind him, "If we successfully get Maka and Soul to get along, we may get them to pair up permanently after this two-month trial is over."

"I see, so this is a plan to make a powerful meister-weapon team," mused Sid, placing a hand under his chin thoughtfully.

"Yes, Sid, but not only do we aim for that, but we hope Soul will open up to Maka. He refuses to reveal his thoughts and feelings to anyone. The only way we were able to somehow take a look at them was through Stein's soul perception. All we really know is that the boy is in great inner turmoil. Aside from that, we only know a few components of his past through publicly accessed research, but overall, we know practically nothing, so we can't help him," said Shinigami-sama.

"Are we using Maka as a spy to figure out Soul's past?" asked Marie, her voice tight and angry.

"Of course not! We do not intend to butt into his life. We only want him to open up to someone to help with the turmoil within his soul," explained Shinigami-sama, "After all, if one does not have a sound soul, one cannot fight well in battle. That could end up with fatal consequences and we certainly wouldn't want that, now, would we?"

"I can't help but feel as though we're just using them both to make a powerful team for ourselves," Marie sighed.

"In the end, it's up to them," Stein began, "In the end, they're the ones choosing their partners. We're just trying to get them to choose each other when the trial comes to an end. All we're doing and all we _can_ do is give them a little push and shove," said Stein, lighting another cigarette and inhaling.

"So, everyone!" Shinigami-sama cried cheerfully, "The plan is to try to get Soul and Maka to stay together as much as possible!"

"You mean like classwork?" asked Marie.

"Yes, yes, see that they are working together because then they're bonding in some way, shape, or form. Oh yes, Sid and Nygus. Make sure that one of the two training days each week are for both meisters and weapons together."

"Yes, sir," Nygus and Sid responded at the simultaneously.

"Alrighty then! Meeting dismissed!" exclaimed Shinigami-sama. The staff filed out of the room, all except Stein.

"Sir."

"Yes, Stein?"

"It's about Spirit, regarding the mission he is currently on."

"What is it," asked the reaper, gravely.

"Contact with him has been lost."

** -Maka-**

Maka had made dinner for herself and Soul earlier. When she opened the door to his bedroom and told him it was ready, he told her to fuck off. What did she do? Tired of his shit, as she was, she grabbed a textbook out of what seemed like nowhere, and swung it down on his snowy head full force.

_She hadn't used her 'Maka Chop' in years, so it felt a little weird. Maka looked down to the floor, where Soul lay unconscious. Realization hit her and she slapped a hand over her mouth. She'd just knocked out the rumored ex-street gang member, Soul Eater. She was so totally dead when he woke up. He pounding heart began to slow as she inhaled and exhaled deeply. No, she could always just Maka Chop him again. It seemed to be his weakness, after all. Maka exited his room and walked over to the kitchen where his steaming plate of food was still waiting. She sighed as she grabbed another plate to cover his so dinner wouldn't get cold. She took the covered plate in her hands and placed it on the desk in his room, grabbing a post it and pen to scribble down that if the food got to cold, he should heat it in the microwave. Slapping the post it down, she looked over his unconscious form. He looked ridiculous. Soul was drooling and was already forming a puddle of saliva on the wooden floor. Maka snorted and looked to his salivating mouth again, noticing for the first time his sharp, pointed teeth. She couldn't believe she hadn't noticed before. She giggled, he certainly did have a strange appearance with his colorless hair, blood red eyes, and shark-like teeth. Almost like a vampire. She walked out of his room and closed the door behind her._

An hour had passed since she knocked Soul out and the boy still hadn't woken up. But that was when Maka heard a stream of muffled curses coming from Soul's room. Her breath hitched before she closed her bedroom door silently and tried to say as quiet as possible. She bit her lip nervously as she heard him shuffle clumsily before suddenly stopping. She heard the creak of a door opening and adrenaline burst through her veins. Maka was just about thinking of how exactly he was going to kill her when she heard a few electronic peeps coming from the kitchen followed by a whirring sound. She exhaled in relief. He was just heating up food in the microwave like she'd suggested.

Her peace didn't last for long, however, because not a few seconds later, angry footsteps began making their way towards her door. Hissing a curse, she whirled her head to look around the room. Instinct told her she had to get away. But how? There was no exit other than the one a currently seething Soul was quickly approaching. So what did she do? Nothing. She _couldn't _do anything. Maka figured she should just act calm. Act natural. Maybe if she was calm, he'd calm down too.

The doorknob turned. There couldn't be any last minute jitters now. But her heart felt like it was practically jumping out of her chest and she could almost hear the adrenaline coursing through her veins.

The door swung open. Soul met her gaze, his furious crimson eyes cutting into her own falsely calm ones. His eyebrows slanted down, mouth curved down into a snarl, revealing his dangerously serrated teeth. His entire being seemed to radiate rage. Never a good sign.

"Hey, bitch! Just who the fuck do you think you are?! What the hell did you do back there?" he growled menacingly.

"Well, I was tired of the way you…" Maka started off strongly before her voice gave out to a mere whimper, her composed façade deteriorating.

"Yeah, well, trying shit on Soul Eater doesn't come off without a punishment," he snarled dangerously.

Maka felt her entire being weaken under his livid gaze as he stepped towards her. She felt tears starting to prickle in her eyes, but she suppressed them. He cracked his knuckles and she gulped.


	6. Don't get involved

**-Maka-**

My mind went blank as Soul gradually closed the distance between us. I started moving back, only to be stopped by the wall behind me. Snapping my eyes back before returning them to Soul's, the one word going through my mind was _shit._ His fiery eyes burned with rage as he came closer and closer. Biting back a whimper, I watched in horror as his arm from the elbow down began to morph. It transformed into a ghastly black blade, its sharpened edge decorated with jagged red spikes.

I gasped. Mere inches away from me; he pulled back his arm and rammed the blade into the wall, mere centimeters away from my face. I heard myself squeak, staring wide-eyed at the thing. Soul smirked, but his eyes stared coldly into mine. Leaning in, he didn't stop until his mouth was by my ear, his breath hot against it.

"It's better for you not to mess with me," he growled. "Don't get any more involved than you have to be and you'll get out of this stupid two-month trial thing alive. Don't think I'll hesitate to hurt you just 'cause that fucked up screw-head said not to." I gulped, my breaths staggering. "Got that, girlie?" he asked menacingly. Nodding slowly, I eyed the still lodged-in blade. "Yeah, you'd better."

With that, he pushed himself off the wall, pulling out his blade, transforming it back into an arm in the process. Soul slammed the door violently, leaving me by myself. I felt my knees buckle, and I allowed myself to slide down the wall until I hit the floor. Wrapping my arms around my knees, I asked just _what_ had I gotten myself into? I came to DWMA just to be thrown into a dorm with a guy who could cut me into a thousand pieces with his own arm. This wasn't what I had hoped for.

Tears I'd been holding back now poured down my cheeks. I'd been suppressing thoughts and feelings of home since I came here, but now they flooded my mind, sending a wave of homesickness throughout my entire being. But I knew there was no turning back now. Not after all I'd been able to do. Not after all the friends I'd made. I was a meister. I belonged here. Right?

That night, I silently cried myself to sleep.

**-Maka (The Next Morning)-**

She woke up early that morning, feeling more exhausted than ever. Feelings of dread and dismay came over her as the previous night's events returned to her. Maka shook them off, however, thinking that if she kept dwelling on them, it would only make her regret coming to DWMA instead of moving forward like she wanted. Things may not have gotten off to a good start, but if she'd seemingly hit rock bottom, things could only get better. So long as she didn't piss Soul off again. Or as he put it 'minded her own business.'

So, she pulled on a fresh set of clothes and, with a deep breath, walked into the kitchen to make breakfast. What irritated her was that she felt she had to make some for that drooling dickface. If she didn't, he might just say something to Dr. Stein and she'd get a deduction from her currently stable grade. And that was just about the last thing she wanted.

Luckily for her, Maka didn't have to face the awkwardness of eating her scrambled eggs and bacon with him since he was still sleeping. Instead she ate by herself before grabbing her schoolbag and heading towards the door, hearing snoring coming from what she now dubbed the 'animal's den'. She exited her dorm, went next door, and knocked. Kim opened the door, rubbing her eyed sleepily, looking at Maka questioningly before letting her in.

"Good morning," chirped Maka with a smile.

"Yeah. So, um, you're here early. What's up?" Kim asked.

"Uh, long story. Is it okay to stay here till school starts? I don't wanna go back and face that guy…" Maka trailed off, a shiver going down her back as she remembered the dangerous spark in Soul's eyes the night before. Kim's eyes narrowed at her friend's distress.

"Okay, Maka, tell me what happened," Kim said gravely, putting her hands on each of her friend's shoulders. Upon feeling Maka flinch slightly at her touch, her eyebrows furrowed harder in worry.

"N-nothing," Maka murmured, casting her eyes down to avoid Kim's intense gaze.

"Maka what did he do?!" Kim shook her lightly. Then she gasped, "He didn't _rape_ you did he?!" she cried and Maka quickly pressed a hand over Kim's mouth.

"No!" Maka hissed, noticing that their conversation had caught Harvar's attention. "Jeez, Kim!"

"Well what _did_ he do, then?" asked Harvar, approaching the girls.

"He threatened me," Maka sighed. She hadn't exactly wanted to tell anyone since it could've caused more drama than there already was. Then again, these kinds of things could only be bottled up for so long.

"What?!" Kim cried.

Maka sighed again before telling them what happened last night. The news was grimly taken by the two which made her feel secretly warm inside to know that she had made some friends who cared about her.

"That bastard," Harvar grimaced.

"Maka, are you really okay?" Kim asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I just gotta be careful around him is all," Maka responded.

"It's so stupid that he'd do that even though you made him dinner," Kim spat angrily. Maka just gave her a tired smile and shrugged.

Not long after, the three set off for class. When they arrived, Maka noticed that Soul wasn't in his seat. She gave a sigh of relief. Turning back to her friends, she noticed that Ox was blabbering on about how Kim was beautiful beyond comprehension as the pink-haired girl tried to ignore him by talking to Jacqueline. Sitting down in her assigned seat, she took out a book to read.

"Yo," she heard a voice say, tearing her eyes off the text to see Killik.

"Hey," Maka greeted, "what's up?"

Leaning in closer to her, he said in a hushed tone, "I was wondering how things were going with Soul."

She glanced down nervously and bit her lip. "I'll tell you at lunch."

"Alright," he said blankly and walked off towards his seat where Fire and Thunder were already in their places. The bell rang and class started. Dr. Stein was taking attendance in front of the classroom, when he craned his head in Maka's direction.

"Maka," he called, turning her attention to the front of the classroom.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Where's Soul Eater?"

"Um, I'm not sure," she responded uncertainly. The professor sighed before looking up at the class before him.

"I must've forgotten to tell you…Okay, everyone, if you come to school without your assigned partner without notifying us with an excuse beforehand, your participation grades will lower considerably," he announced.

Maka's eyes widened. She'd always been a model student; her mother's high standards were drilled into her head. Just because she was in a different school with a whole different swing to it didn't mean she was going to change her ways. She couldn't slip up, especially when her average was so tender, with so few grades currently put into it.

"I will excuse you for today, but I will mark you next time," said Stein.

Relieved, Maka rested her head on her hand. Not five minutes later, Soul came into the classroom.

"Ah, Mr. Eater, we were just discussing how coming into class without your partner will be marked against your grade," said Stein. Soul gave a nonchalant shrug. "Just thought you should know," the professor's glasses seemed to flash before droning on about the process of how a kishin egg soul is formed.

Soul slid into his seat next to Maka, who looked nervously the other way, thinking that she couldn't look at him no matter what. Just mind her own business like he told her to. Avoid trouble.

After an agonizing few hours, lunch finally rolled in. She bolted from her seat the second the bell rang, jumping over her desk to the lower seating levels as to avoid passing by the white-haired boy she so cared to avoid. Catching up with her friends, she joined them in walking over to the cafeteria and buying their lunch. The group sat outside to eat.

"So Maka," said Killik, "you owe me an explanation."

"Oh, right," said Maka, remembering her promise from earlier. She told him the story she told Kim and Harvar that morning.

"Seriously?!" Killik explained when she finished.

"Just be careful, Maka," warned Jacqueline.

"I know," Maka stated with a smile, attempting to lift up the dark atmosphere.

Lunch ended, leading to another few awkward hours of sitting next to Soul. When school ended, Maka hopped over her desk again and walked home with Kim and Harvar. However, she didn't return to her dorm. Not wanting to face Soul, she decided to stay over Kim's place for awhile. The pink-haired girl said Maka could stay for as long as she wanted.

"Want some chips?" Kim offered, looking up from the worksheet she was struggling with.

"Yeah, sure," Maka replied. Kim got up and walked to the kitchen, returning with a large bag of Tostitos. The girls munched away as they did homework together, not bothering to feel greedy as Harvar had gone out to hang with Ox and Killik.

"So tomorrow's a training day…" mused Kim.

"Yep…"

"You know that requires you and Soul working together," Kim stated cautiously, observing her friend for her reaction.

"U-um, yeah…"

"Don't worry, there'll be teachers around," she assured.

"Yeah that's reassuring, 'cause he won't attack me just because the teachers are around," said Maka, voice dripping in sarcasm.

"Well, he won't have a reason to hurt you since it's required that he interacts with you," Kim reasoned.

"True."

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be fine," she smiled.

"Hopefully," Maka sighed, eyes tracing up to the clock. It was already six and she still had to make dinner. "Sorry, Kim, I gotta go," she said, gathering her things and standing up.

"What? Why?"

"I have to start dinner."

Kim pouted before furrowing her brows worriedly. "Okay. Be careful," she cautioned.

"Yeah," Maka hummed before heading to the door. "See you tomorrow." With that she walked to her door and unlocked it quietly. She began tip toeing to her room before stopping dead in her tracks, dropping her things at the sight before her.

Soul was sitting at the small kitchen table, crimson blood leaking from thin cuts on his wrist, trickling along his arm. The other was half transformed, as it was the night before when he threatened her, but it now had his blood dripping off the blade, mixing with the original red jags of its natural design. Soul, himself, looked up at her with alarm in his eyes. Maka stood still, silently gaping, not uttering a single word.

"Shit."


	7. Slit Wrists

** -Soul-**

The pigtailed girl was just standing there, staring at me like some idiot. When did she even come in anyway? More importantly, I had to do something about the current situation. She'd caught me.

"Shit." I cursed. She just stood there, like some fucking fish, gaping with wide eyes. But then, she snapped out of her trance.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE _DOING_?!" she screamed. What is she, blind? For fuck's sake I was cutting myself.

Before I could say anything, she lunged at me and grabbed my bloody wrist, yanking me towards the kitchen sink. I winced in pain. She turned the faucet on and forced my wrist under the frigid running water. Pain erupted from the cuts, making me hiss. Damn, that hurt like _hell_. The girl was panting as she tried to clean the blood up. Idiot, didn't I tell her to stay away?!

Yanking my arm back from the faucet, I stepped back. "Didn't I tell you to mind your own damn business?!" I yelled, enraged.

"You were cutting yourself!" she screamed back.

"Oh yeah, scream it out so the whole dormitory can hear it! No fucking _shit_! But that's _my_ business!" I snarled, venom in my voice.

**-Maka-**

I faltered. He was right, it was none of my business, but what else could I do? I'd always been taught that you should help someone who was cutting. Obviously I needed to stop him…right? What was I supposed to say now?

I felt frustrated and angry. Never a good combo. Tears threatened to spill over at any given moment.

"At least…" I choked out before wetting my lips, "at least let me bandage it for you," I whispered softly. Walking over to the corner of the kitchen, I took out the first aid kit. The tears that had threatened to fall before were now streaming down my face.

**-Soul-**

What? Did I hear right? What the fuck is wrong with her? I expected her to try and continue the argument. Then again, she didn't really have a chance to make a comeback.

She turned towards me, first aid kit in her hands. Looking at her face I saw…tears? What? Now she's _crying_? Oh, for crying out loud. She put the kit on the counter next to me. I could see her shaking. Was it fear? Frustration? Anger? She grabbed my hand and pulled it to her.

"Dammit, quit doing whatever you want!" I yelled, jerking my hand back, but she held on tight, forcing her body to swing with it. Taking my wrist with both hands, she yanked back. Damn, that hurt like a bitch! Does she not know that's fucking painful?!

"Please, just let me bandage it!" she cried, tears pouring down her cheeks. But why? She couldn't have been crying out of concern for me. I'd been a total ass to her. So, why?

She reached into the kit, taking out a spray bottle, shaking it before applying its contents to my wrist. I winced. She took out a white roll of gauze and started wrapping it carefully around my wrist.

I leaned over to her. "Listen up. I've warned you before and I'll warn you again. Mind your own fucking business. If you _dare_ tell anyone about this, you're gone," I growled. She faltered slightly in wrapping the gauze, but continued. She finished the roll and taped it gently in place. "Got that, girlie?" I asked menacingly. She flinched, but slanted her brows.

"Yeah," she muttered angrily,

"And mind your own-"

"Alright already! I heard you the first billion times!" she roared. Then snapped her mouth shut and clenched her jaw, more tears spilling from her eyes.

Just where was this chick getting the gal to stand up to me?

**-Maka-**

Whenever I get really pissed or frustrated, I start crying. Tears would involuntarily stream down my face like they were now. Soul just stood there, seething, with a furious yet bewildered expression. I ran into my room, and slammed the door. I sobbed quietly until I heard Soul slam the door to his room. Wiping the tears from my eyes, I went into the kitchen and took out a few things to piece together dinner with.

**-Stein (When School Ended That Day)-**

After Stein left the classroom, he made his way towards the Shinigami room. Marie, Sid, Nygus, and Shinigami-sama were already there.

"I've got news on Soul Eater and Maka," Stein began. The group turned to him. "It's not good. During class, I used my soul perception and saw that Maka's soul is very restless and apprehensive around Soul. Soul's soul gives off its aura of resentment more around her than anybody else," he explained grimly.

"What do you think happened?" Marie asked, worry evident in her voice.

"I can only guess that Maka did something to trigger a threat or small attack from Soul," said Stein. He took out a cigarette and lit it. "It's affecting the relation between their soul wavelengths."

"My, my, how troublesome," Shinigami-sama sighed.

"What can we do?" asked Nygus.

"Well, I was thinking that since tomorrow is a meister-weapon training day, you and Sid plan activities that require negotiation and teamwork between partners," Stein suggested. "I will teach them how to adjust soul wavelengths the day after tomorrow so that the meisters can train with transformed weapons."

"What about us?" asked Marie.

"We can get the pairs to do projects together. Don't assign anything to do at home. I know how kids work. They just have one person do everything. Make sure to monitor Soul and Maka in the classroom," Stein answered. Marie nodded.

"Alrighty, then~! With that settled, the meeting is dismissed!" said the reaper. The group began to disperse. "Stein," he said grimly. The professor turned around.

"Yes, Shinigami-sama?"

"Have you heard anything from Spirit?"

"No, sir, contact with him is still lost. We can't seem to track his cellular device either," Stein reported with a turn to his screw.

"Hmmm. I suppose we'll have to send out a search party. I would prefer that you went, but we need you here to teach the kids."

"That idiot. He's been causing more and more trouble for us since his wife left him," Stein sighed with a puff of smoke.

"It's been pretty hard on him," Shinigami-sama stated.

"That's true, though most people wouldn't think so, considering he goes out to those clubs all the time," Stein remarked in rare sympathy.

"Yes, that's true. I'll send out a search party. Well then, goodbye Stein."

"See you tomorrow, sir." Stein walked out of the Shinigami room and lit a new cigarette. "Hopefully when that idiot comes back, he'll be happier," Stein muttered to himself, exhaling smoke. A grin curled on his face, his glasses flashing, "Considering that his daughter's here."

**-Maka-**

After she'd made dinner, Maka didn't leave her room for the rest of the evening. She tried to read a book, but since her energy was drained from crying, she fell asleep.

When she opened her eyes again, it was dark. She turned on the lamp on her bedside table to look at the clock. Two in the morning. She needed to take a shower. Getting up, she grabbed her nightwear, which consisted of an oversized t-shirt and gym shorts Kim gave her. As she made her way to the bathroom, she passed the kitchen. She looked down at the floor below the wooden table. A few drops of dried blood staining the linoleum reminded her of the events that had happened just a few hours ago, making her chest throb. She grabbed some paper towels and trudged to the sink to wet them. There, she saw Soul's empty dinner plate. The sight made Maka smile a little. At least he'd eaten something. She wiped the blood off the floor with the wet paper towels and threw them away, then went to the bathroom to take her shower.

The next morning, she woke up at six. Groaning, she slid out of bed. She did _not_ get enough sleep at all. _And_ today was a training day. Wonderful.

She got dressed, styled her hair into neat pigtails, brushed her teeth, and then walked into the kitchen to find Soul sitting at the table. That was a first.

"G'morning," Maka mumbled sleepily, trudging over to the fridge. Soul didn't respond, which slightly irked her, but she waved it off, blaming it on morning crabbiness. She took out a couple of eggs and a pack of breakfast sausages, placing them on the counter to get a pan out and place it on the stove. She turned the gas on and cracked two eggs, letting them sizzle.

She could feel Soul's stare boring into her back, making her feel jittery. Turning around, she saw that he was, indeed, staring at her.

"What?" Maka asked, irritated. His sleepy eyes met hers.

"Nothing." That was it? Nothing? No snappy retort? No 'mind your own business'? No cruel growl?

She gave a doubtful look before turning back to the eggs and taking out two plates. She slid an egg on each plate before putting the pan back on the stove and ripping open the pack of breakfast sausages and aligning them on the pan.

"Hey, dumb broad," said Soul.

She whirled around, "What?" she snapped, half expecting him to make some clever retort like 'ha, you actually turned around.'

"Why are you doing this," he said, jerking his chin towards the stove.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," he started, "I'm a total asshole to you but you still do that shit for me."

"You mean cooking?" Maka asked, glancing back quickly at the frying meat.

"Yeah."

"I don't see what you're getting at," she said, knitting her brows in confusion.

"I don't see why you don't just make me eat out," he stated, gesturing to the door.

Maka didn't think that was an option, and besides, wouldn't it have counted as excessive spending if the food card was spent on both groceries _and_ consistent outer dining? "What? You don't want my food?" she asked, flipping over the sausages.

"Hah! And lose a chance to eat for free?" he smirked.

"Fuck you!" she cried angrily. He held up his hand calmly, which aggravated her further.

"Take a joke, tiny-tits," he said with a grin. That hit a nerve.

"Maka-chop!" she yelled, slamming a textbook into his skull. This time, not as hard, even though he deserved it. She had to get to class at the same time as him and she _didn't_ feel like dragging his fat ass to school. Maka immediately regretted the action, however, remembering what had happened last time she'd done it.

"Hey! What the fuck did I say about-!" he started, but she didn't let him finish.

Summoning up all her courage though she was scared stiff, "Yeah, yeah, I shouldn't mess with you 'cause you'll kill me yadda, yadda, yadda," she mocked sarcastically. Boy was he _fuming_.

**-Soul-**

Just _where_ was she getting that nerve from?

I sat up, grumbling, but nothing more, too tired to start anything so early in the morning.

"Fucking bitch," I muttered. She turned around with a short 'hmph' and slid the sausages on both plates, taking one and slamming it down before me.

"Here, eat your _free_ fucking food," she spat.

"I think I will," I growled as I grabbed a fork and stabbed into the egg, watching the yolk bleed from it. The girl sat down across from me and started eating. After about a minute of awkward silence, she spoke up.

"I have a name, you know," she said softly. I looked up at her. "It's not 'broad', 'bitch', or '_tiny-tits_'," she said in disgust. "Just call me Maka." I said nothing. She glanced over at the clock.

"Crap! We're gonna be late!" she cried, grabbing my wrist. My _injured_ wrist.

"Ow! Dammit, woman! Watch what you're grabbing!" I yelled, pulling back my wrist. It was throbbing. Damn, that hurt.

"Sorry," she said guiltily.

"Just go. I'll be there when training starts."

"Hell no! We have to come to class together or it'll affect our grades!" she cried.

"Feh, I don't give two fucks about that shit."

"Well _I_ do!" she exclaimed. "And since you're the partner I have to come to school with, I _will_ make you come with me!" She grabbed my other hand and pulled me along. I yanked it back.

"I can walk just fine without you pulling me along," I snapped.

**-Maka-**

We walked the rest of the way in silence. When we arrived at school, Ms. Nygus took attendance and we all changed into our gym uniforms before going out to a wooded area at the edge of the athletic fields.

"Okay class, today you're going to be doing an activity with your assigned partner. Depending on who's lighter, one of you will carry the other. The one who's carrying will have to wear a blindfold and the one being carried must guide the other," explained Mr. Sid. "Your goal is to find and bring back your color flag. Grab a paper out of this hat and it will tell you your color." He took out a hat filled with small papers. As each pair chose their paper, I turned to Soul.

"You take the blindfold, I'll guide," I said.

"Fine," he grumbled. Sid came to us and I reached in and took out a slip of paper. Our flag color was red.

"Okay, kids! Get ready!" bellowed Ms. Nygus when all the pairs got their color.

"Turn around," I told Soul, holding up the blindfold. He huffed and turned and I tied the blindfold around his head. He crouched down and put his hands back.

"Get on already," he said impatiently.

"Hmph," I huffed, hopping on. He staggered up.

"Damn, you're heavier than you look." I hit him over the head and he growled.

"Alright, everyone! Go!"


	8. The Sweet Deal

**-Maka-**

The second Nygus said go, Soul sped off. Maka felt as though she practically few off him. He was fast, she'd admit.

Curling her arms around him tighter she screamed, "Whoa, watch out!"

"This blindfold isn't really giving me the option," he yelled back.

"Tree! Tree!" she shouted and he veered to the right. "Slow down!"

"Shut up! Just give me the damn directions!"

"I can't see anything if you're going so fast!"

"Fine, then! Have it your way! I hope you're happy, bitch." Maka had to hold back the urge to pound his head with her fist as he slowed down to a jog. She relaxed her grip and was finally able to take a look around. The other pairs had all scattered, so the two were alone.

"There's nothing here," said Maka after tracing over their surroundings. "Go right." Soul grunted, but complied. "Turn left!" she squeaked just as they were about to crash into a tree. "Turn right again!"

"What? Do you see the red flag?"

"No, bet there're a lot of trees we could crash into."

"This is stupid," he grumbled.

"What?"

"This game. It's stupid," he stated, letting his arms slide down to his sides, no longer supporting her legs. He leaned back, throwing Maka off and letting her crash down to the ground with a yelp.

"Hey!" she cried, rubbing her head. She looked up to see him untying his blindfold. "What the hell?!" she shouted. Soul glanced over at her with a glare that sent chills down her spine.

"There's no point in going on like that. They can't see us in here anyway. Hey don't even know where we are. All we have to do is find the stupid-ass flag, and when we go back, put the blindfold back on."

**-Stein-**

Little did Soul know, he really was being watched. Stein and Marie were hiding in the brush, listening in on the two's conversation.

It wasn't going as well as they'd hoped. Then again, it was to be expected. Stein resisted the urge to twist the screw lodged in his head, as it would make noise.

"Soul! Just put the blindfold back on!" Maka insisted.

"No! It's enough that I actually went this far wearing it! Besides, we probably won't find it anytime soon and I'd have to carry you the whole time! You're so fucking fat!"

"Maka-chop!"

"What did I tell you about doing that!" shouted Soul angrily, clutching his head painfully.

The situation didn't look very good. But if the need came, Stein would interfere. But he couldn't help but think that it really was amazing that Maka had the courage to stand up to him. He felt Marie tense up and put a hand on her shoulder in silent reassurance.

"Shut up! Just put the damn blindfold on!" cried Maka, clutching the cloth in her hand and thrusting it towards Soul.

"Fuck no!" he spat, glaring at her murderously, making her flinch. She sighed miserably.

"Listen," she started quietly, "if you just put on the blindfold, carry me, and find the flag with me, I-I'll make you anything you want."

Soul smirked but looked up thoughtfully. After a few moments of silence he kicked the dead leaves under his feet.

"Like, food?" he asked. Maka nodded. He sighed, avoiding her gaze, "Fine…but it better taste good." Maka's face lit up instantly.

Interesting. Interesting indeed. Stein grinned and Marie relaxed.

**-Maka-**

Soul put the cloth back over his eyes, tying it in the back. He crouched down.

"Well? You getting on or not?"

Maka smiled and hopped on his back, clutching his shoulders tightly as he rose. She leaned in closer to his ear, "Thanks," she whispered gratefully to which he snorted.

"Whatever, dumbass."

"Shut up! Go left!"

**-Maka (After School)-**

After the day was over, Maka walked home with Kim and Jackie. As she opened the door and went inside her and Soul's dorm, she saw him watching TV, slumped lazily on the couch.

"Yo, dumb broad!" Soul yelled from the living room just as she was about to enter her room. Twitching, she turned around.

"What?"

"I'm hungry."

"Then eat some chips or something!"

"No, I want legit food."

"I'm tired," she sighed. And she was, after all, she'd just gotten back from showering in the locker room after an eventful training day.

"That's great and all, but I'm still hungry."

"Shut up! Just eat whatever!" she exclaimed, "There's a whole fridge of food."

"Hey, you made the deal, not me." Maka looked over at him and he grinned. "You said that if I found that stupid flag, you'd make me whatever the hell I wanted. I think I deserve that 'cause I had to carry your fat ass for hours."

Exasperated, she sighed in defeat, "Fine. What do you want?"

Looking at the TV screen thoughtfully for a moment, he turned back to her. "I want that," he said, pointing to the television set.

She took a look at the screen. It was some food channel. "You want coconut cream pie?" she asked doubtfully.

"Sounds good."

"For _dinner_?!"

"Yeah."

"I don't even have the ingredients," she said. Was he being serious?

"Well go buy them then, stupid."

"You're ridiculous!" she cried. Maka felt like wringing his neck just about then. His nonchalance annoyed her. His ridiculous request annoyed her. _He_ irritated her.

"No, I'm _Soul_. This Ridiculous guy you're looking for isn't here," he smirked.

"Fuck you!" she roared, turning away before she blew his head off with a hardcover novel for his stupid joke. Grabbing her sweatshirt, she saw that it was four in the afternoon. If she hurried with shopping, she could be done with the stupid thing by six or seven. But then she remembered she didn't even know _how_ to make it. Cursing under her breath, she exited the dormitory and made her way to the Death City Public Library. Once she entered, she sat down at a computer to find a recipe for coconut cream pie. She _did_ make the damn promise, after all.

**-Shinigami-sama-**

The masked reaper watched the mirror fuzz in gray static, the deafening sound of it filling the entire Shinigami room. He sighed, touching the screen gingerly with an oversized white hand.

"Oh, Spirit," he said tragically, switching the mirror's image to the perspective of Stein's house's mirror.

"Stein!" Shinigami-sama called. The professor turned towards his mirror and stalked over to it.

"Yes, Shinigami-sama?" he asked.

"The search party has been sent."

"That's good," Stein remarked.

"Putting that aside, how were things with Soul and Maka today? I heard from Nygus and Sid that they completed the activity successfully."

Stein smiled, his glasses flashing brilliantly as his hand instinctively flew to the screw in his head and took a twist.

"It was very interesting," he mused simply.

"I see. How so?"

"Their behavior towards each other was interesting to watch. Maka's cautious, but is somehow able to push her fear of Soul aside and face him directly. Soul acts viciously towards her, but seems to falter. For the most part, I think this plan just might be working," Stein explained as his screw clicked loudly.

**-Soul-**

He heard the door open and Maka stumbled in with a few grocery bags. Smiling slightly at the sight, he turned back to the TV and continued flipping through the channels. Soul stopped when he saw a man in a crisp tuxedo playing the violin on a wide stage. Staring at the screen, he focused on the man's face, listening to the music emitting from the speakers, feeling his hand clench the remote tightly.

"Damn it!" he cursed, a little too loudly because he caught Maka's attention.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing," he replied curtly, changing the channel. Looking over to the kitchen, he saw that she was staring at a piece of paper as she cracked eggs strategically with one hand. He turned back to the TV and continued watching.

**-Maka-**

She felt her eyelids begin to droop, but she shook her head and continued mixing the creamy filling as the crust baked in the oven. It was white. Just like Soul's hair. She remembered when she was on his back earlier, she could easily smell his hair. Maka had never really been around boys all that much, most of her friends at home being girls, but she knew that the shampoo he must've been using was definitely masculine, tingling her senses pleasantly.

She slapped herself lightly for the silly thought, blaming it on fatigue. Looking at the clock, she saw that the crust should be done. She walked over to the oven and slid on padded mitts. Opening the small door, she saw that the crust was baked to a sandy brown, similar to the color of her hair. She set it aside and let it cool as she finished the filling, then poured it into the crust and popped it back into the oven.

Five minutes later, Maka took it back out and placed it on the counter, figuring that she'd just lie down on her bed until it was done cooling off. She dragged herself to her room and flopped onto her bed.

**-Soul-**

I opened my eyes to find myself on the couch, TV still blaring. My stomach growled and I sat up. What was taking that idiot so long? Getting up from the couch, I walked into the kitchen. There was a pie, but no sign of Maka. I walked over to her door and knocked. No answer. I opened it quietly to see her sleeping peacefully, clutching a pillow to her chest.

"Hmph, idiot," I muttered and smiled. Closing the door gently, I walked into the kitchen.

**-Maka-**

I woke up and looked over at the clock. It was midnight. Ugh, not again. I hated dozing off like that.

I got out of bed and my stomach growled. I hadn't eaten anything since lunch. Wait a second. Did Soul eat the pie?! I walked into the kitchen and saw the pie wasn't where I'd left it. Did he eat all of it?! The thought pissed me off. I turned to the kitchen table where a small plate with a good sized slice of pie sat. I felt a smile spread across my face.


	9. Blades and the Past

** -Maka (At School)-**

Stein walked into the classroom and plopped his papers down on the desk. Turning to the board, he began writing. The class was silent; the only sound heard was the clacking of chalk against the blackboard. When he finished, the professor revealed what he'd written. _Adjusting Soul Wavelengths._

"As you can see, today we'll be learning how to adjust your soul wavelengths," he announced. "Once you learn this, you'll be able to train with your partners in weapon form. By the end of today's lesson, you'll have taken a test. I'll have each pair adjust their soul wavelengths to each other and you'll be graded on your performance."

Maka shifted her eyes to Soul. His dark hood covered his snowy hair and crimson eyes as his heavy boot-clad feet were propped up on the desk. She gave a frustrated sigh. It was another grade that depended on Soul's performance just as much as it did hers. And on top of that, the guy didn't even know what was coming to him because he was sound asleep. Gritting her teeth, she turned forward again.

"Now then, class, the steps are quite simple…"

**-Shinigami-sama-**

It was another day of solitude in the Shinigami room for the renowned masked reaper. He stood atop the raised platform, facing the tall mirror, having just taken care of an errand through it. As Shinigami-sama was just about to hop off the platform to make himself a cup of tea, the mirror suddenly began to ring. Turning back, he swiped a hand over it, revealing a fair-skinned woman.

"Hello, Shinigami-sama," she bowed slightly. "Long time, no see."

He cocked his head in surprise before waving cheerfully, "Oh, hello, Kami~! It's been quite long, indeed! Will you be joining us for the reunion party?"

"I'll R.S.V.P to that later, sir. Right now, I have a more pressing matter to take care of. Where's Spirit?" she asked, spitting her last word out with repugnance.

"Spirit, hm? Well, you see, he went out on a mission not so long ago. He's currently mission in action," Shinigami-sama replied gravely.

"Missing?" Kami asked, shock evident in her expression.

"Yes, we sent out a few search parties yesterday to find him."

"Oh…"

"Was there something you wanted to speak to him about?"

"Yes, actually."

"It's that serious?"

Kami nodded in response before breaking out in tears.

"What's wrong, Kami?" asked Shinigami-sama, concerned by the fact that one of his most emotionally solid graduates was currently sobbing.

"I-it's about my daughter," Kami choked out. The reaper acted unfazed, knowing exactly what had happened to said daughter.

"Ah, yes, Maka was it? I still remember when she was first born…"

Kami smiled sadly, "Yes, well, she ran away from home a while ago and I was going to ask Spirit if he'd seen her."

"She knows about Spirit?" asked Shinigami-sama, keeping his act up, and doing a very good job of it. It helped that his face wasn't too capable of showing emotion anyway.

"Yes, sh-she saw the reunion party invitation and asked me about it. So, I told her everything," she explained before another fit of sobs racked her body.

"I see."

"Have you seen her? She might've admitted herself into DWMA!"

"No, I'm sorry."

"Shinigami-sama, I'm serious. I know that your policy for runaways is not to alert their parents unless the student wants you to. Maka wouldn't want me to know. Sir, I need to know. I don't want her to follow the same path I went down. Please tell me!" Kami demanded.

"Yes, that is our policy, but I have not seen her since she was a baby in your arms," he replied firmly.

"Maybe I'll reconsider my decision on whether or not to go to that reunion party," Kami glowered, tears beginning to dry.

"Alrighty, then~! I'll see you in a month!" Shinigami-sama exclaimed in mock cheerfulness.

"Goodbye then, sir," Kami said before the mirror returned to normal, reflecting the grim reaper's tall figure.

"Oh dear."

**-Maka-**

"Maka and Soul Eater, please come out into the hallway," Stein called from the doorway as a pair of partners walked back into the classroom.

Maka gave Soul a sharp nudge. "It's our turn," she hissed. He rubbed his eyes blearily, letting his hood fall, revealing his gravity defying white locks.

"Hmph," he grumbled, getting up and joining Maka in descending to the door and out into the hallway. Stein met them, sitting in his chair, holding a clipboard.

"Alright, then. Go ahead," he beckoned to them.

Maka started remembering the steps. First, she had to find Soul's wavelength. Concentrating hard, she felt his presence coming around and she kept track of it. Now, she had to adjust hers to his. Maka began lowering and raising the levels of her emotions, but their wavelengths didn't seem to equalize no matter what she tried. Soul didn't seem to be doing anything, much to her annoyance. Suddenly, a short but sharp pain shot through her head.

"Ow! Soul, do it right dammit!" she shouted. Hearing people from inside the room snickering, she blushed, looking up to see an amused and grinning Soul.

"Okay you two, try again. Soul, you have to adjust yourself to her instead of just waiting for her to adjust to you. It doesn't work that way," said Stein.

"Yeah, yeah," Soul waved him off.

Maka closed her eyes again and focused. She found Soul's wavelength quickly and began to adjust her levels, this time feeling him do the same. A smile broke out on her face when their wavelengths felt the same. In tune. Her eyes flew open to see Soul begin to transform. His body disappeared in a flash of light, forming to reveal a scythe with a silver handle, a dark blade with scarlet jags protruding from the staff, connected to it with a black and red eye. So menacing, so dark, so…cool. Gasping as she grabbed the handle instinctively, she felt the scythe begin to spin and Maka moved her hands accordingly. Soul's weapon weight was perfect, not too heavy, comfortable enough to hold and probably satisfying to swing.

"Very nice," Stein complimented, scribbling on his clipboard. "You may go back."

Maka felt Soul vaporize from her hands and reappear, completely human, at her side. She folded her hands behind her back happily as they walked back into the classroom and the names of another pair were called.

**-Stein-**

"Stein, are you done with your class?" asked Sid.

"Yes, why?" asked the professor, putting a hand in his lab coat's pocket.

"Shinigami-sama wants to talk to you."

"What for?"

"It's about Maka," Sid stated.

"I see. I'll be there in a minute, then," said Stein, grabbing his things and making his way to the Shinigami room.

Once inside, he stood by the platform and watched as Shinigami-sama made his way towards him.

"Hello, Stein," the reaper greeted grimly.

"Hello, sir. I heard you wanted to talk to me about Maka."

"Yes, well, earlier today, Kami gave me a call."

Stein glasses flashed as he raised a brow at the peculiar news, "Did she?"

"Yes. She wanted to talk to Spirit, but I told her he was missing. Kami said that Maka ran away from home and she asked if I'd seen her."

"What did you say?"

"Of course I said I didn't, but Kami knew I was probably following the policy on student runaways. She plans to come to the reunion party just for that."

Smirking shortly, Stein remarked, "Of course she would. She really can be more intense than Azusa sometimes. But you've figured it out too, haven't you? That this Maka's the same baby Maka that Kami left with."

"Yes, well, she's practically a spitting image of her mother," chuckled Shinigami-sama.

"I wonder what Spirit'll say when he gets back."

"If he gets back."

**-Maka (After School)-**

She had to find out who Spirit Albarn was. Maka had been so caught up in the whole assigned partners thing that she hadn't had any time to think about it really.

She walked down the hallway and saw a large pair of doors. Opening them, she entered what she had heard was the DWMA library. She gasped at the spectacle before her. She'd never seen a library so beautiful, rows and rows of works ancient and new lining the shelves of both floors, the area giving off a grand, yet cozy atmosphere. Fellow students were sitting at the provided tables, studying or just hanging out with their friends. She looked over to see the checkout desk to her left. Maka walked over to it, and, seeing as the man behind it had his back turned to her, cleared her throat and caught his attention.

"Um, hello," she greeted. "Do you hold DWMA yearbooks here?"

"No, yearbooks are held in glass cases throughout the school," the man replied. He noticed her disappointment and added, "But can I interest you in our new book arrivals?"

Maka brightened instantly, knowing she'd been meaning to find some more books to read since she already finished all the ones she bought at the bookstore. "Sure."

The man reached into the box he'd been rummaging through moments ago and set a few books before her. "They're an interesting book series. I highly recommend them."

"Cool," she said, but felt her heart sink. "Oh, uh, I don't have a library card."

"Oh, there's no need. Just give me your DWMA ID card," the librarian said.

Maka rummaged through her schoolbag and handed it to him. He checked out the books for her and she thanked him, giving him a short wave of goodbye. Exiting the library, she pondered over what the librarian had told her. The yearbooks were kept in glass cases. But where exactly? DWMA was huge! And on top of that, it was built to be a labyrinth. She settled for wandering aimlessly until she managed to find one. Her plan worked, since not a few minutes later, she caught sight of a glass case.

Inside were various trophies for sports won by the Death City Killers. Looking up, Maka saw pictures of people holding weapons of different sorts, reflections of students within them. She also saw several sighed footballs and soccer balls among the old cheerleading gear. Maka shifted her glance to a picture of a girl with brilliant emerald eyes and wavy ash blonde hair cascading down all the way to her lower back. She looked to be a senior in high school. The beaming girl was holding a black-bladed scythe with a cross staff, its reflection revealing a boy of similar age with chunky red hair and bright blue eyes. Looking at the caption below the photograph, she read: _Scythe Meister Kami Sakura and Deathscythe Spirit Albarn._ Her eyes widened. So this was how her mother looked like in high school? She couldn't believe how pretty she'd been. And she could finally put a face to the name Spirit Albarn.

She continued walking along the glass case, stopping when she noticed a photo with a black scythe. Looking at it more closely, she noticed a gray-haired boy wearing a white Chinese-style shirt stitched roughly in the front. The scythe he was holding reflected a boy with crimson hair and discomfort in his cerulean eyes. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that the scythe must've been Spirit Albarn, looking only slightly different than he did on the picture she previously observed. She read the caption. _Scythe Meister Franken Stein and Demon Scythe Spirit Albarn_. Wow. _Franken_ Stein. How original. So Dr. Stein was Spirit's meister too? Then she remembered, her mother had mentioned that Spirit had a partner previous to her.

Suddenly she felt a presence behind her. Whirling around, she was met face to face with Dr. Stein.

"D-Dr. Stein! H-hi!" she blurted. Her professor merely smiled.

"Hello, Maka. I see you're looking at some old pictures of some of the best meister-weapon teams DWMA has ever had," he said.

"Uh, yeah. I see that you were one of them."

"Oh, yes, that was a long time ago." Dr. Stein smirked. Maybe she could ask him about Spirit! Maybe he knew where he was.

"Dr. Stein, I have something to ask you," Maka began. He shifted his gaze to hers curiously.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Do you know Spirit Albarn?" She winced at her own stupidity. Of _course_ he knew Spirit. He was in a _picture_ with him.

"Yes I do. We were a team, as you can see," said Stein, a grin curling on his face, sending chills down the girl's back. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, just wondering. But I noticed there was another picture with him in it, except he was with another meister."

"Mhm, DWMA gave him another partner," he explained.

"I see," she said, allowing her gaze to linger on the photograph a while longer.

"Well then, Maka, have a nice day," said Stein with a quick wave, "I have some papers to grade."

He turned before she could say anything. She sighed. He'd left before she could ask him any more about her real father.

Maka arrived back at the dorm a few minutes later, stuffing the key back in her pocket.

"I'm home, so don't get all pissy about dinner," she said as she came in.

"Whatever," she heard Soul mutter.

"I'm ordering pizza," Maka announced, snatching the phone up, "What kind do you want?"

"Pepperoni."

"Okay," she mumbled as she dialed the number of a nearby pizzeria she'd found the printed menu of.

**-Maka (Two Hours Later)-**

After her shower, she stepped out of the bathroom and made her way to bed. Flopping down upon it, she reached lazily for her schoolbag and dug around for the books she'd checked out of the library earlier. She opened one up, relishing in its new book smell and began reading.

By the time she closed the novel, finished, it was midnight, so she shut off the light and pulled the covers over herself.

Just as she was about to drift off, she heard shuffling from outside her bedroom door. Pulling the covers over her head, she started steadying her breaths, deep and slow, just as though she were asleep. She heard her door squeak as it cracked open, and shut her eyes. Maka didn't see who was, but she was pretty much certain it was Soul. Hearing the door close softly and the shuffling get farther and farther, she lay still for about a minute before getting up. She opened the door and stepped out. Nothing. No one. She trudged over to Soul's door, cracking it slightly ajar. He wasn't there. So where did he go? Perhaps he just left something outside.

Too tired to do anything more, she crawled back under her warm sheets and floated into her world of dreams.

**A/N: Yes, I did say the Death City Killers. It's cannon too. There's a picture by Ohkubo with Maka and Ox in some sort of alleyway and Maka's shirt reads Death City Killers. So, yeah. Lol. I love how brilliant he is with puns and settings in Soul Eater XD**


	10. Cleaning Up and Nightly Affairs

** -Maka-**

The next morning, she woke up, slid reluctantly out of bed and trudged into the kitchen. Sleepily recalling Soul's disappearance last night, she decided to check if he'd come back. Maka walked over to his room and peeked inside. Sure enough, there he was, in all his drooling glory. Closing the door silently and returning to the kitchen, she groaned at the thought of another training day.

Several minutes later, Soul came out of his den, most likely after catching the mouth watering smell of breakfast. Maka set down a plate before him as he slid into a chair, wondering just why she still bothered making food for this asshole.

Since she'd already eaten, she entered the bathroom to brush her teeth and tie her hair into neat twin tails. After giving each pigtail a satisfying tug, Maka left the bathroom for the couch. She switched on the TV and flipped to a news channel's morning show as she waited for Soul to get ready. Two men wearing suits were sitting across from each other, a glass coffee table set between them. One was the obvious host of the program while the other appeared to be interviewed.

"So, Mr. Evans, I hear your family will be going on tour soon," the host said.

"Yes, we are, and we're hoping to get even more popularity for our son, Wes. He's recently reached a prestigious level in skill on the violin and we're very proud. My wife was thinking of allowing him to go solo and making some albums of his own," boasted the interviewee.

"Well, that's saying a lot, coming from an Evans," the host remarked brightly.

"Turn it off."

Maka turned to the kitchen. Soul watched her, an angry flicker in his blood red eyes. Frowning, she asked, "Why? I'm just watching TV while waiting for y-"

"I said to turn the TV off _now_!" he snarled, cutting her off. Recoiling briefly at his furious tone, Maka sat up straight.

"I don't see what the big fucking deal is! For the love of _Shinigami_, Soul, you're such an asshole!" she cried, standing up. "You know what? I don't even _feel_ like watching TV, anymore. Thanks, really," she huffed sardonically, clicking the power button on the remote before throwing it violently at the couch.

Soul growled angrily and stomped back to his room, slamming the door shut. Maka followed suit, seething. Seriously, if it wasn't for the fact that she'd get a bad mark if she didn't show up to class with Soul, she'd have stormed out by now. She sat down on her bed, fuming. She didn't even do anything wrong! All she did was turn on the damn TV. Not knowing whether it was just morning crabbiness or some grudge against that TV station, she still thought he was overreacting.

Maka heard Soul's bedroom door open.

"Well, let's go," he urged after a few moments.

Feeling as though she cooled down enough, Maka exhaled the last of her anger before snatching up her bag and going out the door with him.

**-Maka (During Training)-**

"Hya!" Maka cried as she aimed her fist at Kim. Her friend ducked and managed to nail Maka in the stomach with her foot, making her fall roughly to the mat.

"You okay?" asked Kim, offering a hand.

"Yeah, fine," Maka replied, taking Kim's hand and pulling herself up with a grunt.

The girls were currently sparring each other as self-defense practice. Maka thought she'd do better, having taken martial arts classes in the past, but as it turned out, she was a bit rusty. Everyone else had been training for longer, as well, leaving her a step behind.

"Ready?" asked Kim, plodding to the other side of the mat.

Maka crouched down and coiled her hands into fists. "Ready."

Kim charged and Maka braced herself, crossing her arms in front of herself as a shield. Kim aimed below them and Maka hopped back in time. Crouching down, she saw her short-haired friend coming towards her. Maka swung her foot around, attempting to trip her, but Kim jumped up just in time. Using that as an opening, Maka lunged herself up and threw a punch.

"Oomph." She got her. Kim staggered back and Maka kept going. If there was one thing she learned that day, it was to keep going and not celebrate an advantage until the fight was over. Maka kicked Kim's feet from under her and her friend fell to the mat.

"Not bad!"

"Thanks," panted Maka, smiling.

"Hey, after this, wanna go get ice cream or whatever with me and Jackie?" Kim asked, hopping up.

"Sure." Maka looked over to her right to see Killik and Ox sparring each other. It was pretty cool to watch since their spars were, well, intense. Ox was quick to duck, avoiding blows smoothly and making his moves strategically. Killik was strong, never faltering even as Ox sped out of the way of his kicks and punches. Both had confidence behind every move. They would've made a great team if it weren't for the fact that they were both meisters. Looking over, she saw that Kim was watching them as well. Her eyes had a certain look in them. Excitement? No. Jealously. Not that either. Adoration? Bingo.

Smiling slyly, Maka bumped her hip against Kim's, "Hmmm? What're you staring at, Kim?"

Kim quickly turned her head away, blushing out of embarrassment. "N-nothing. Just looking at how other people are doing! You know, to learn some new moves or whatever," she stuttered.

"Mhm. Yeah, yeah," said Maka dubiously.

"Maka!"

"Kidding! Okay, let's go again. This time, try to trip me. I need to practice avoiding that."

"Yeah."

**-Maka (After School)-**

"Can I have a bite?" asked Jackie, staring hungrily at Maka's chocolate-vanilla ice cream.

"Sure go ahead," Maka offered her bowl.

"Yay!"

"But let me have some of yours."

"Mhm," said Jackie, shoveling a spoonful of _Maka's_ ice cream into her mouth.

Maka grabbed her friend's bowl of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream and swallowed a good portion of it.

"Hey! That was, like, half of it!"

"You took that much from me!" Maka reasoned, snatching back her ice cream. Jackie pouted.

"C'mon, just do it!" Kim begged. Turning towards her, Maka could see that she was on the phone. "Please! You know it's tomorrow and I'm not gonna be home in time to do it _and_ finish homework. Besides, when I _do_ come home, I'll be tired from work!" There was a pause. Then a smile broke out on Kim's face, "Thanks so much! I'll make it up to you, I promise!" She hung up and turned back to her friends.

"What was that about?" asked Jackie as Kim sat back down at the table.

"I was just calling Harvar to ask him to clean up the kitchen for me," Kim explained, slurping her milkshake.

"Why?" Jackie asked.

Kim looked at her blankly. "Um, 'cause we've got dorm inspections tomorrow."

"What?!" both Jackie and Maka cried simultaneously.

"You know, the dorm inspections? The ones they're supposed to give every week?"

"Shit," Maka cussed. How was she supposed to get Soul to help her? "Well then, I gotta go. See you guys tomorrow!" She gathered her things and left the ice cream parlor as her friends called out a goodbye.

When she got home, Soul was watching TV again, munching away at a bag of chips. Unfortunately for her, when he ate chips on the couch, he got crumbs _all over the place._

"Seriously?" Maka asked sarcastically, gesturing to the mess he made.

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"You're disgusting!" she crinkled her nose, "We have a dorm inspection tomorrow! You'd better clean up after yourself."

"You're the broad around here, you clean it!"

That was _it_! Maka had more than enough of his sarcastic, rude attitude. And now he was being a sexist pig? Just when she was beginning to think he'd gotten a _little_ nicer.

She grabbed a textbook from her schoolbag and flung it furiously at his head, wincing in pain when her sore muscles from the spars groaned in protest. Maka could practically hear his skull crack as the book rammed into his scalp. Storming away angrily, she watched as he passed out.

She opened a small closet between the kitchen and the bathroom. Inside stood a vacuum cleaner, a mop, a bucket, and some cleaning detergents and sprays. Pulling out the vacuum, she plugged it into an outlet in the living room and turned it on.

**-Stein-**

Stein was doing some evening errands at a small desk in the Shinigami room. Hearing the clicking of heels, he looked up to see that Marie had walked in. Nodding a hello, he went back to work. Marie approached him and tapped his shoulder lightly.

"I thought you might be hungry. You haven't gone home yet and I'm guessing you haven't eaten," she said, handing Stein a small box.

"Thank you," Stein said politely. Opening the box, he saw there was some chicken, rice, and a side of vegetables. He turned to Marie and gave her a small smile, which she returned. Suddenly, the mirror began to ring.

"I'll get it!" shouted a voice from the far corner of the room. Shinigami hopped over to the platform and answered the call.

"Hello? Shinigami-sama?" asked a voice.

"I'm here. What is it?"

"I want to inform you that we've found Deathscythe Spirit Albarn and managed to get him away from his captors." Stein and Marie perked up instantly, turning towards the mirror.

"Stein, they've found him!" Marie cried in relief and she gave the professor a hug. Stein simply smiled, but deep inside, he was extremely relieved and happy his friend was safe.

"Very good, very good!" the reaper exclaimed happily.

"Shinigami-sama, I'm told to inform you that his medical state is very poor. We'll be back at DWMA in about two days, so be ready to admit him into the infirmary immediately."

"Yes, of course."

"Without further ado, I will say my goodbyes," said the man in the mirror.

"Goodbye then, please contact me when you're close by."

"Yes, sir." With that, the connection was put to an end.

**-Maka-**

Maka got out of the shower and slipped on an oversized T-shirt and a pair of comfortable shorts. She brushed her teeth and returned to her room. She'd pretty much cleaned the entire dorm earlier. When Soul finally woke up, she forced him to at least tidy up his own room. At that point, she still didn't know if he actually did and she wasn't in the mood for checking and possibly being attacked or something of the sort. She nestled herself under her bed covers and switched off the light.

About an hour later, Maka rolled over to her side, attempting to get comfortable. She just couldn't fall asleep. Letting out a long sigh, she shut her eyes. Shuffling was heard outside her room. Was it Soul again? She lay still and steadied her breaths, listening carefully. The scuffling stopped at her door and it creaked open. Maka kept as quiet and unmoving as possible. A second later, the door closed again and the shuffling got farther and farther. Then, she heard the front door open and close.

**-Maka (The Next Day)-**

During class, Stein warned the students that the dorms were going to be checked by several teachers after school. Sure enough, the professor himself came to inspect their dorm.

"Alright, the kitchen, the bathroom, the living room, and Maka's room all seem to be in order. Now all that's left is your room, Soul," said Stein. Maka silently prayed that Soul really had cleaned his bedroom. Crossing her fingers and closing her eyes, she heard Stein swing the door open. She opened her eyes to see that, surprisingly, Soul's room was neat and tidy, practically shining.

"Whoa," she breathed. Maka couldn't help but feel a little happy since he'd listened to her after all. Soul kept his nonchalant, bored expression as Stein jotted some things down on his clipboard.

"Okay, you two, you're clear. Have a nice day," said Stein with a short wave as he walked out the door.

Maka sighed in relief and began walking back to her room. Just as she was about to turn the doorknob, she turned around. "Hey," she called

Soul looked to her. "What?"

"Thanks," she smiled.

Shrugging his shoulders, he walked towards his room. "Whatever."

**-Maka (That Night)-**

Okay, she understood if it was once or twice, but _three_ nights in a row? He was definitely _not_ looking for some lost item. After hearing the front door close, she hopped out of bed and tugged on a sweatshirt and slipped on a pair of sneakers. She walked quickly to the door and exited the dorm silently, beginning to follow the direction of Soul's footsteps.

Maka walked quickly and quietly. Soon enough, she saw Soul's dark silhouette stalking down the hallway. She hid behind the corner as he turned to another hallway. She ran down silently and peered around the corner he'd turned. Soul was opening a door and walking through it. After she heard it click closed, she ran towards it and carefully opened the door so no one heard. Maka made sure to close it quietly before dashing down the path leading from it.

Where did he go? Did she lose him? The path split in two directions. Biting her lip in frustration, she squinted her eyes to try and see if she could spot Soul walking down in either direction. An idea came to her head, making her grin. That's right! She had a soul perception ability! But how did it work? Maybe she had to search for Soul's wavelength like she did when they were tuning to each other.

Closing her eyes, she let out a breath. Here went nothing. She felt her soul search for his. Nothing. Trying again, she imagined her soul as a radar. Suddenly, she felt the presences of many souls at once. She could feel their different types, meisters and weapons, their presences near and far. The feeling was amazing.

She attempted to feel for Soul's soul. Concentrating harder, she began to search for his intimidating aura in the midst of all the other presences. Then, she found it. It was a bit weak, probably from the distance, but it was there all right. She held on to that aura and followed where it was coming from. Every step she took made it feel stronger and closer. She broke into a quiet jog and his presence eventually felt so near that she slowed down and looked around her. A moment later, Maka saw Soul's silhouette trying to open a school window. She hid behind a few nearby bushes growing next to the path. Why was he there? She continued to watch him as he finally flung the window open and stepped inside whence looking around cautiously.

Maka waited a few seconds and came out of the bushes, up to the window. Lucky for her, he hadn't closed it. She crawled inside and turned on her soul perception and felt Soul's presence once again. Following it, she walked down hallway after hallway, walking into dead end after dead end, until finally, she found the room we was in. She looked up at the sign. The music room? What was he doing in there? She tiptoed to the door, opening it soundlessly. Walking in she saw…nothing. Was her soul perception wrong?

That's when she heard a muffled sound coming from a door in the room. Curious, she made her way towards it. It must've been a separate practice room because looking in through the small window on the door, she saw Soul's back facing her. But it wasn't Soul that let her know. It was what he was doing. Sitting down at a grand piano, his fingers plinking the ebony keys, he had only a small reading lamp on so he could read his music.


	11. Sneaking Around and The Past

** -Maka-**

She just stood there, peering through the practice room's door window. Maka couldn't help but find it strange that the boy she thought could be compared to a raging beast was playing the piano. Though she couldn't really hear what he was playing through the sound-proof walls of the room, she wanted to. She wanted to go inside and hide behind the storage boxes along the wall of the practice room and just listen. But how could she sneak in without Soul noticing? If he noticed her, it certainly wouldn't end well.

Maka pressed her ear against the wall to hear the melody he was playing. It sounded loud and dynamic, rich with sound, probably filling the entire room. Perfect. He probably wouldn't hear the door open if he kept it up.

She opened the door carefully and tiptoed toward where the storage boxes were piled up high. She sat down and leaned back against a cardboard box, closing her eyes to focus on Soul's haunting tune. It was dark, frightening, chilling. It was beautiful. Shivers ran up and down her back as Soul's fingers continued lingering up and down the keys of the elegant instrument.

**-Stein-**

Stein lingered down the empty hallways on his way home. He reached the hallway where the music room was located and stopped in his tracks.

_Oh, what's this? I sense two students in the music room. Hm. Maka, huh? _

A grin curled on his face.

_Well, well. So, she's found him out. This should be interesting._

**-Maka-**

She'd been sitting there, concealed in the darkness of the practice room, listening to the wonderful music pouring from Soul's fingers for about two hours now. Maka wasn't sure why she hadn't fallen asleep yet. Perhaps it was the constant fear of being found out making her eyes shoot open when her heavy lids succumbed briefly. Maybe it was just the beautiful sounds coming from the piano. He played furious songs, soothing melodies, and tragic dirges (*). All of them were breathtaking.

Suddenly, the playing stops, ending with a dangerous, angry chord that hung hauntingly in the air for a few breath-stopping moments. Maka heard his hands slip down to his legs as he gets up and draws the keyboard cover with a light _thunk_.

He was finished. What was she to do now? Where should she go?

She heard Soul turn off the reading lamp over the piano and pace to the door.

_Click._

Maka bolted up, groaning as she felt her stiff muscles burn from the sudden action. She stretched briefly before walking out the door, opening and closing it quietly. She glanced around the dark music room to make sure she was alone. The coast was clear. Sighing with relief, she swiftly exited the room and rushed down the hallway to the nearest exit. Though she was only at DWMA for about a week, she managed to get a sense of direction in the labyrinth of hallways. Good thing, too.

She cut across the grassy areas, running, trying desperately to get to the dorm before Soul. Her legs burned, but she made sure to push herself. He couldn't catch her. She'd triggered too many red flags with him to risk another one.

Thanks to the faint lamplight along the stone paved paths, Maka was able to catch sight of the dormitory, slowing down to a quick walk and trying to quiet down her heavy breathing. Entering the building, she silently returned to her living quarters and unlocked the door. She closed it softly and tiptoed over to Soul's room to check if he'd come back. He hadn't, she observed, seeing as his bed was empty.

Seeing that, Maka went into her own bedroom, peeled off her sweatshirt, and crawled into bed. Without the threat of being discovered by him, she realized just how exhausted she really was. The pillow sunk under the weight of her head, feeling soft and inviting as the melodies Soul had been playing all night sill echoed in her head.

Her calming breath hitched as the front door room creaked open. She kept her eyes closed, pretending to already be asleep. Just as she thought would happen, Soul cracked open the door to her room and shut it again after a second.

**-Stein (The Next Morning)-**

Stein waited at the infirmary door, awaiting news on his old friend's medical condition. His stupid red-headed ex-partner, who kept putting himself in more and more dumb situations that only caused trouble, he thought, placing a cigarette unconsciously between his pale lips. Though he could've gone into the infirmary at any time, due to his vast surgical knowledge, he decided not to. That guy didn't need him. He wouldn't go down so easily.

_Well, that bastard'll be happy when he finds out his daughter's here,_" though Stein, leaning against the wall, looking to the ceiling as he lit his cigarette.

"Oh, Dr. Stein," said Medusa, poking her head out from the doorway to the infirmary. "Spirit is resting in bed now."

Stein nodded slightly, brushing past her as he entered a large white room, the smell of antiseptic filling his nostrils. He walked down the aisle of beds, each separated by a curtain, searching until he found the one accommodated by a man wrapped heavily in bandages, IV's stuck into his arms, his face covered in dark bruises.

"We let you go for a day and this is what you get yourself into, huh?" Stein chuckled, exhaling a cloud of smoke.

"It wasn't my fault," the red-haired man pouted, making him look like a marred baboon because of his bruises. Stein grinned, taking another drag of his cigarette. "And don't you know better than to smoke in an infirmary of all places?!"

"Heh, sorry, force of habit," said Stein, throwing the butt out through the open window next to the bed. "So tell me, how exactly did you get in all this? Was the enemy some attractive, busty female?"

"No! She was a horrendous wench!" Spirit spat.

"An incredibly hot horrendous wench?" Stein asked humorously.

"Oh, shut up."

"Say, Spirit, have you been thinking of Kami and your daughter lately?"

A stricken look crossed the man's face. "Oh, Kami! I've always loved you most! I promise!" Spirit cried out, jerking around. He winced in pain, regretting the action as he sunk slowly back down.

"Well, I guess you have," Stein muttered. "But, you know, it _was_ your fault."

"Please, let's just get off the subject."

"Suit yourself. But, I want you to understand that I think the way Kami never lets you know anything about Maka is unfair," Stein remarked. A smile curled on his face, "And you're in for a surprise."

"What?"

"You'll find out soon enough," Stein said, leaving the poor man in utter confusion as he exited the infirmary.

**-Maka-**

It was finally Saturday. A day of freedom and relaxation. Maka woke up late, around one o'clock, due to the late night events. Soul was still sleeping, or at least he never came out of his room when she left for Deathbucks to hang out with her friends.

"Hey you guys, I've got a riddle for you," Killik said, smiling as he slurped his ice coffee. Everyone looked to him, waiting for what he had to say next. "Okay. Bill Clinton uses his all the time, Madonna doesn't have one, the pope doesn't use his, and Lady GaGa's is unknown to most people. What is 'it'?" he asked with a sly look.

"Um…" Jackie pursed her lips, looking uncomfortable.

"Is it…a penis?" Kim asked, cautiously.

"Nope!" Killik laughed.

"It isn't?" Jackie asked, furrowing her brows, thinking harder.

"Really?" Harvar questioned.

Ox looked deep in thought, scratching his bare scalp as he took a sip of his latte.

"Think about it," said Killik, grinning smugly at their stumped expressions.

"Last name," Maka stated simply. Killik's grin was wiped off his face and he turned to her quickly in surprise.

"No way! How'd you get it?!" Killik exclaimed.

"Ohhhh, that makes sense," Jackie nodded.

"Dude, no one I've told that to has ever gotten it! You're a freakin' psychic!" Killik cried.

"Well, you just have to think about it," Maka shrugged.

"True," Kim stated, "Bill Clinton is usually just referred to as 'Clinton', Madonna, well, basically 'doesn't have one', the pope uses a completely different name than his own, and not everybody knows Lady GaGa's last name."

"By the way, what _is_ Lady GaGa's real name, anyway?" asked Harvar.

"I'm pretty sure it's Stephanie Germanotta," said Jackie.

Maka smiled. Being together with her friends like this reminded her a lot of her life before DWMA. Before her world changed completely. Before everything she knew was a cover up. Before, when the only father she knew was Jake Turner. Before, when everything was simple and clear…

"Maka?"

She looked up to see everyone's looks of concern. Realizing a tear streamed down her cheek, she reached up to wipe it away with the tip of her finger, but it only seemed to cause even more.

"You okay?" Ox asked.

"Y-yeah. Just miss home a l-little is all," she whimpered, trying to keep her voice as steady as possible. But a sob escaped her lips when she thought of her mother and her old school where she left her few old friends behind.

Maka felt a pair of warm arms wrap around her tightly. "It's okay, Maka," said Kim. She hugged her back.

**A/N: (*) dirges, according to my band teacher, are very slow and draggy pieces of music. In marching band we often got yelled at for making our ballad sound too slow and dull, making it like a dirge, which it wasn't supposed to be. **


	12. Tears and Gangs

The day of the reunion party was approaching quickly, only a week away. Spirit still rested in the infirmary, getting treatments from the wounds he received during his mission.

Kami was dealing with problems of her own.

**-Soul-**

When I woke up that one Saturday, Maka wasn't there. She came back around four in the afternoon and went straight to her room.

_The front door clicked closed and she stormed into her bedroom. Her door slammed behind her and I heard the squeak of her mattress springs. Muffled, choked sobs emitted from the room._

_What was her problem? _

_I turned TV volume up._

_ When I couldn't find anything good on half an hour later, I switched the television off. Whimpers were still coming from behind her door. _

_Dammit. What the hell?_

_ I walked over to her room and opened the door. She turned at the sound of it creaking open, her eyes red and swollen, tears streaming down her round cheeks._

_ "Go away!" she cried, burying her face into her pillow._

_ "You've been crying for a long fucking time now," I growled. "What the hell's your problem?"_

_ "Why would you care?!"_

_ "Because I don't think you have anything to actually cry about!" _

_ She lifted her head from the pillow, scrunching her face into an unsightly frown. "You'd never understand! Just go away!" she sobbed._

_ "Not until you stop crying! What, did you lose a book or something? Your little nerd problems aren't such a big deal."_

_ Her face was struck with anger, more tears spilling from her eyes, "You don't know _anything_ about me! You're such a fucking insensitive dick!" Maka spat, seething. "I can't believe you just said that!"_

_ "Then_ what_ is the problem?" I asked, more calmly, leaning against the doorway. I'd pissed her off enough, I guess. I didn't need another stupid argument._

_ She seemed to calm down a bit, taking a deep, shaky breath and wiping her wet cheeks. She avoided my gaze, looking down at her lap, where she played with the hem of her skirt. _

_ "I-I just miss home," she choked out._

_ "You miss home, do you? Didn't you run away?"_

_ She frowned, "I did, but…"_

_ "But what?"_

_ Her frown deepened, "I just miss the way things used to be!" she cried._

_ "This is ridiculous," I breathed, rolling my eyes. Geez, pathetic._

_ "See?! I told you you'd never understand!"_

_ "Then exactly how were things before?"_

_ Wiping the remainder of her tears, she answered "I-it's just…my mom never told me she was a student here. I didn't find out until I found a reunion party invitation on her desk. She never told me I was a meister or anything." I walked to her bed, still listening and sad down, still keeping some distance from her. "And my dad—well, he wasn't my real dad and she never told me that, either. The invitation said Kami _Albarn, _but my family name is Turner. Everything I'd ever known to this point was basically a lie."_

_ "Whoa, whoa, wait," I interjected. "Did you say _Albarn_?"_

_ "Y-yeah?"_

_ "You mean that fucked up red-haired man-slut of a Deathscythe, Spirit Albarn?"  
"Huh?"_

_ "Holy shit, is Spirit Albarn your birthfather?" I asked in disbelief._

_ "U-um yeah. I just know my mom filed a divorce when she found him cheating and-"_

_ "Damn! I mean, I figured he'd have a lovechild or two, but I never figured it'd be some nerd like you." Anger crossed her face, so I quickly continued, "But you know what? That really explains a lot. Man, he's always sobbing whenever people call him a man-whore!"_

_ "Uh," Maka said awkwardly._

_ "Listen, if finding that pervert is why you came to DWMA, I can probably help." I muttered, placing my hand on the back of my neck._

_ "Really?!"_

_ "Yeah, but don't expect too much, that guy is messed up as fu-"_

_ "Thanks," she beamed._

_ "What?"_

_ "Thanks," she repeated. As though that wasn't surprising enough, she put her arms around my waist and hugged me. I can't even remember the last time I've had someone do that. _

_ I awkwardly patted her back twice with one hand. This was getting too uncomfortable, too fast. I mean, we were basically at each other's throats half the time and all of the sudden she's, well, _hugging_ me._

_ Maka must've sensed the awkwardness too, since she pulled away quickly and tucked a loose strand of ashen air behind her ear. I rubbed the back of my neck, avoiding her gaze, looking from the ceiling to the floor. The dead silence in the room was starting to get to me._

_ "Y'know, you really don't have much to complain about," I started. _

_ Maka tilted her head sideways in question._

_ "Well, at least your parents cared about you, right?"_

_ "Jake's technically not-"_

_ "Mine didn't," I said, clenching my fist at the bitter memories coming to mind. How could I ever forget that kind of pain?_

_ Maka stayed silent, her green eyes struck with concerned curiosity. I continued, "All they cared about was my brother. They ignored me. Hell, they didn't give two fucks about me. I was just a nuisance to them, a disappointment, as they put it," I sighed, "When I found out I was a weapon, I took it as a chance to get out of that hellhole. I ran away, too, but unlike you, I didn't find my way here so easily. I didn't really know about this place. I lived on the streets and I even joined a fucking street gang," I chuckled darkly, "Stupid, I know. We weren't afraid of anything, not even killing people. Since I was a weapon and 'wouldn't leave any evidence' I was the one to do it." _

_ I heard her take a sharp breath. I grimaced, maybe I told her too much. Then again, I made it clear I was a monster since day one, didn't I. Then why did it matter so much? "I was the kind of kid our parents warned us about. I did drugs, fucked whores, got into fights, drank…I did it all. And I was an idiot to think those sons of bitches were actually worth anything. I thought I'd finally found a purpose. See, there was another gang we constantly butted heads with. One night, I was out with two other guys and we got surrounded by then of them. We started a fight, though we were hopelessly outnumbered. The bastards I was with managed to escape and just abandoned me. I was able to get out, beat up real bad, but out. When I tried to get back to the guys, I couldn't find them. They all left me," I explained. "That's when DWMA found me on the streets. They saw I could turn my arm into a scythe and took me in."_

_ "O-oh…" Maka said meekly, biting her lip. "You're right…I really don't have anything to cry over. Sorry…" Looking up to me, I could see her eyes were full of pity. _

_ I didn't need that. Pity. I hated it when people gave me that shit._

_ "Yeah whatever, so just stop crying," I grunted and walked out of the room._

**-Maka-**

She sat in Dr. Stein's class, bored out of her mind. She'd already learned this particular segment of biology at her old school, and she wasn't the type to forget information easily. Looking at the clock, she noticed she only had a few more minutes until school was over.

Maka shifted her eyes to Soul. Hoodie over his eyes and feet propped up on the desk, as usual. She sighed. How could two people be like this? So close, yet so distant. She knew they weren't friends, they've never been, but they'd opened up to each other. It was as though things have changed, but at the same time, haven't. They both acted as though nothing happened. No crying, not admitting, no nothing. Sometimes she thought maybe that day was all just a strange dream.

"…and so class, we'll be having dissections next week. Make sure to hand in your papers on the diet of ibexes," Dr. Stein announced. Maka packed up her things and walked to the door. Today she planned to return the books she checked out from the school library the other day. The bell finally rang and she stepped into the hallway, humming to herself as she walked to the DWMA library. She'd finally gotten a hang of the place. Maka walked in and made her way over to the checkout desk. Opening her bag, she took out her books and placed them on the counter.

"Hello," a voice greeted, cheerfully. She looked up to see the librarian smiling at her.

"Hello," she said.

"Did you enjoy them? The books I suggested, I mean."

"Yes, I did, thank you," Maka grinned, "Oh, do you by any chance have any books related to ibexes?" she asked, the question sounding strange on her tongue.

"A project from Dr. Stein?"

"Yeah," she giggled when the librarian rolled her eyes.

"Right this way."

Maka followed the librarian, who pulled out a few books as they walked from aisle to aisle.

"Will this be enough?"

"Yes, thank you!" Maka took the five books from the librarian's arms. She moved to a nearby table to take notes. Turning her eyes to the left, she noticed Miss Marie picking out a few books. She smiled at Maka, who gave a small smile in return. Then, a red-haired man walked—well, more like hobbled—in, supporting himself on a single crutch, a bandage wrapped around his head. The whole fighting thing they did around here must've been more dangerous than she'd originally thought. Once again, just what had she gotten herself into?

Turning her attention to the man, Maka saw him talking to her bubbly light-haired teacher. But he wasn't looking at her face. No, he was looking at her ample chest. Maka crinkled her nose in disgust. Honestly, some people were seriously disgusting. Turning back to her ibex-related books, she continued taking notes.

**-Spirit (About an Hour Later)-**

Spirit hobbled on one crutch, each step echoing in the empty hallway. He was making his way to the Shinigami Room. He turned a corner and saw a girl walking towards him. Her soft-looking hair was an ash-blonde and her eyes were a stunning moss green. As the two began inching closer and closer, he started thinking. Thinking about the things that made his heart wrench with sadness.

As the two passed each other, Spirit stopped. Turning his head back, he watched the continuously distancing figure.

"Kami?"


	13. Thoughts of the Suffering

** -Spirit-**

The sandy-haired girl rounded the corner of the hallway. Spirit continued to wistfully stare at where she disappeared, leaning on his single crutch. The look painted on his face reflected the utter confusion and turmoil of feelings he felt stirring up in his mind and soul.

_That girl….her face….it looks like Kami's,_ Spirit thought to himself._ Kami…her beautiful green eyes and flowing golden hair…how could I have let someone so precious go? I'm still being haunted by those memories. And now I'm seeing her face on normal students. How pathetic. Just what have I done to myself? Just what have I done to Kami? What have I done to our little girl?_

The man felt a tear slip out of the corner of his eye as he turned around and hobbled down the once-again empty corridor.

**-Maka-**

"Maka, want some water? You look terrible," Kim remarked.

Maka thought it a great idea. She could feel her bangs plastering themselves on her soaked forehead, her pigtails felt loose, and her clothes clung to her skin.

"Yeah, thanks," she said, as she reached to Kim's water bottle. Maka chugged at it gratefully.

"Greedy much, are we?" Kim snickered.

"Ah! Sorry!" Maka apologized, handing her friend's water bottle back.

"No sweat," Kim grinned.

The day's meister training had been intense. Everyone around Maka was currently sweating like Niagra Falls.

"Well, I'm heading on home," she remarked, standing up to stretch.

"You sure you don't wanna hang out?" asked Kim.

"Yeah, I gotta study for that quiz tomorrow," she explained.

"You mean Miss Marie's quiz? Her quizzes are nothing!"

"Still, it's better to be safe than sorry."

"Whatever, see ya," Kim waved. Maka turn towards the direction of the dormitory.

**-Soul-**

Why did he do that? What reason did he have for telling that chick everything? Why was she so….different? Soul didn't understand. But he really couldn't deny it; that girl was strange. She wasn't scared of him. Not like the others. Not only that, but she didn't run away when he admitted it all, spilled everything he'd kept within. Unlike the time he told the others. The ones who ran away from him, from the potential danger, from something they didn't want anything to do with. Maka stayed. And _hugged_ him. Soul never told anyone the whole story. Now she knew it. Why _her_? Just what was up with her?

Just what was up with him?

**-Maka (Nighttime) -**

The various pitches of the piano keys being delicately pressed by Soul's fingers came together to produce a beautifully sad melody. Even though she sat behind a pile of boxes, Maka could practically see the calm, yet tragic expression on Soul's face. Such an unnatural expression for him to wear.

She thought back to that conversation they'd had. The one about his troubled past. The melody he was playing seemed to reflect the pain of betrayal and loneliness from then. Next thing she knew, she was shedding a tear.


	14. The Reunion

**-Soul-**

_Soul, learn well and become successful. Your brother was better than this when he was your age._

No, not this dream again. Anything but this.

_Soul, be more like Wes. Practice more and act professional._

No. Stop.

_C'mon Soul, Mother and Father are just about ready to disown you._

I don't wanna hear it.

_You are a disgrace to the Evan's family! _

I feel myself get seated in front of a grand piano. The ebony keys shine brightly and illuminate some of the surrounding darkness. I place my fingers on the keyboard and involuntarily begin to play.

_All your compositions are utter garbage! Trash! Why can't you be like Wes?!_

_ I won't allow this! You will not be performing at the next family concert. You'd just be tarnishing our name._

Stop.

_Soul, are you really giving this up? Why? I like your music._

I feel my hands cramp up. I feel my fingers slipping. I feel my eyes going bleary. Just like old times.

I finally jerk up and slam the piano at full force with my fingers. I wince in pain and look down at my hands. My fingers are covered in paper cuts from flipping through music sheets. My wrist shoots pain through my arm and up to my collar bone. I feel my eyes begin to water over and tears spill down my cheeks.

_You've become an embarrassment of a brother._

_I wish you were never born._

No. No more.

Suddenly, I see a white light spreading throughout the darkness, absorbing the surrounding voices and the grand piano.

"Get your lazy ass out of bed!"

I feel my body crash to the hardwood floor under my bed. I open my eyes to see Maka frowning at me, book in hand.

"Dammit bitch, that hurt!" I yelled.

"Hmph. Well, you weren't waking up, looks like this worked. I'll make note of that," she said haughtily, turning towards the door. "Hurry up and eat so we can leave."

"Yeah, yeah."

I hate that dream. Every time I get it, it seems to just get worse and worse. But this time, it wasn't so bad. Maybe it's because she woke me up before it got worse. I'll have to thank her for that.

I smile and stand up. I sniff the air. Mm, bacon.

-**Maka**-

When Soul and I arrived at school, the board in the classroom read _Free Study_. Dr. Stein was sitting in his usual wheeled chair, smoking a cigarette. We took our seats and waited for class to start.

"Everyone, today, as you can see by the board, is a free study day," Dr. Stein started. "You are free to do as you please as long as you're within school limits." The class began chattering excitedly. "Quiet down. This is also a good time to announce your final exams," said Dr. Stein sternly. The chattering died down. Exams, huh? Better start studying.

"There will be both a written and physical exam. The written exam will be fully individual but the physical exam will have both an individual part and a part where you are tested together with your current partner." Oh just great. I gotta work together with the asshole. "The written exam will be on Soul Studies and Soul Theory. The individual physical exam will be a test on your strength, speed, agility, and hand-to-hand combat skills."

Crap. I was never so hot with physical things like that. I'll have to work on it.

"For the physical exam taken with your partner," Dr. Stein continued, "you will both have to clear a complicated obstacle course together successfully. The obstacle course is located in the training field, along with other things that can help you with both parts of the physical exam, and you are free to practice there today. Oh yes, there is no school tomorrow, so you have a free day. Alright, that is all." With that, Dr. Stein rolled out of the classroom while the class erupted into chatter.

I decided to go to the training field since I needed to work on just about all the physical requirements the exam called for. I grabbed my bag, pushed in my chair, then noticed that Soul was in the way of my exit.

"Move over," I said. He looked over at me with bored eyes and pushed his chair in without a word. "Thanks," I muttered. I walked down the steps to the front of the classroom and joined the stream of people leaving the room. I walked down to the locker rooms and took out the extra gym clothes I kept in my bag.

Once I changed, I walked to the training field. A few people from my class were already there. Some were practicing at the high jump, some were throwing hurtles, and some weapons were pulverizing dummies with their semi-transformed limbs. I looked over to the other side of the field. The obstacle course Dr. Stein told us about was standing there with all its menacing glory. Some students were giving it a try.

I turned my head and saw an empty track circle. Hey, a little jog can't hurt. It would help my leg strength and speed. I walked towards it and tightened my pigtails. I needed to get better. I needed to do the best out of everyone on this exam. There's no way I was gonna lose.

I stepped onto the track and took off. I felt my legs burn as I ran around the circuit. I had to get better. I had to do my best. I sped up, sweat erupting from my forehead and lungs gasping for air. I felt my jaw start to hurt after a while from my desperate breathing. I kept going. I kept running.

By the end of the school day, my whole body was covered in perspiration and I had strained muscles I never knew I had. I put the dumbbells I had taken back on their rack and headed towards the locker room. I took a shower there and changed. I reached into my school bag and took out the now slightly crumpled invitation. The date of the reunion party was tomorrow. I wonder if I'll be able to find Spirit Albarn there.

I fold it up again, slip it inside my bag, and walk home.

**-Maka (The Next Day)-**

Today is the day of the reuion party, huh? What'll I do? Should I go and see if I can find Spirit? What'll I do when I find him?

These are the things I'm thinking about as I lie face-up on my bed, just after waking up. I groan as a particularly bright sun ray reached my eyes. I swing my legs over my bed and walk into the kitchen.

Soul's snoring his head off as I eat a bowl of cereal. Good thing I'd bought it. It's an easy breakfast when I don't feel like cooking. Soul doesn't seem to think it's a bad idea either. Not that I asked him or anything.

After breakfast, I walk to _D City Books. _Since I came here recently, I don't know a lot about the whole concept of souls and Soul Theory. I hate being so behind on something so basic to DWMA. I walk to the section labeled _Meisters/Weapons and Soul Theory_. I pick out a few thick books and make my way to the reading area.

**-Spirit-**

Spirit was sitting in at his small wooden table, eating a petite breakfast of scrambled eggs and tea. His crutch leaned against the empty seat next to his sprained ankle. As he ate his food, he fingered some of the bandages that protected the wounds on his face and neck.

_So the reunion's today, huh?_ _We're getting everyone together again. Those were good times. Everyone got along and helped each other out, and I had Kami… Kami… I wonder how she and little Maka are doing… I wish I could see them again at least once. But why would they want to see such a failure of a father like me, anyway?_

Spirit sighed and drank the remaining tea in his mug. He took the crutch, positioned it under his armpit, and cleared the table.

-**Elsewhere in Death City**-

A woman gathered her limp ashy hair into a ponytail as she walked down the streets of Death City. Her stern eyes looked around, absorbing every detail. Her black heels clattered on the sidewalk, her red suitcase following suit. She walked over to a nearby motel but suddenly stopped and took a deep breath.

"This place sure brings back memories," she said, bitterness in her voice. "Brace yourself Death City, Kami's back."

-**Maka (Late Evening)**-

The front of DWMA was crowded with men and women chattering away, eating all kinds of gourmet food, and drinking champagne. Women were wearing colorful dresses and men sported crisp suits. The reunion party was underway.

Maka was hiding behind some shrubs that encircled the entrance area of the school building, watching as old classmates gushed over new looks and gossip. She was scanning the crowd for someone who matched Spirit's description. The trouble was, she could only see so much from where she was hiding. Her combination of a short sleeved black T-shirt and jean shorts was a poor choice for hiding in bushes that constantly irritated her exposed skin. She hadn't bothered wearing a hat to hide her light ash blonde hair because it was already dark outside.

Meanwhile, Soul was walking back to the dorm building after a short walk to clear his head while listening to some music on his iPod. He knew about the reunion party, but he could care less about rudely passing through it. Then something caught his eye. Soul noticed the nearby shrubs rustling a bit and some familiar colored hair sticking out from them.

_The hell is she doing here?_

He walked over to her, taking out his earbuds in the process.

"Hey," he said. Maka jumped, making the bushes shake and rustle loudly. She whirled her head around, wide-eyed, to see that it was only Soul.

"Omigosh, don't scare me like that!" she huffed and turned back towards where the party was. Soul smirked and crouched down next to her, peering over the top of the bushes.

"So," he started nonchalantly, "What exactly are we doing here?"

"Oh, you know, uh, looking for someone…."

"Who? This is just a bunch of middle aged people who still act like they're eighteen," Soul stated. Then he remembered. "Ohhhh, you're looking for Spirit, aren't you?"

"Mhm," Maka murmured with a nod. Soul nodded in acknowledgement.

"Funny how you'd go through all this trouble of sneaking around and hiding when you could just ask for him at school," Soul stated sarcastically. Maka frowned at him. "Just saying," he said with a shrug. He turned back towards the crowd and started looking through it. A splotch of red in the crowd caught his eye. "Hey, I think I found him."

Maka perked up and tried to follow Soul's gaze.

"Where?" she asked energetically.

"Over there, by the steak server," replied Soul, pointing. "Can't you see the red hair? He's got a crutch, too." Maka squinted her eyes and caught sight of where Soul was pointing.

"That's him? That's my real dad?" she asked excitedly. But her eyes darkened when she realized who it was. It was the guy who was staring at Miss Marie earlier. "Oh, it's that guy…" Soul shot her a questioning look. Maka kept staring at Spirit. She couldn't believe she finally found him, her real dad, even if he really was a disappointment.

That's when she saw her. Ashy hair put up in an elegant loose bun, a purple dress, black heels, and dark emerald eyes.

Maka gasped, eyes wide. "W-what? I thought she wasn't coming."

"What?" Soul asked, his brows furrowing at her reaction.

"Sh-she's here. My mom," she stammered. "Shit. Shit, shit, shit. If she sees me…"

Soul glanced at the crowd and saw a woman who looked almost exactly like Maka. She was cutting through the mass of people toward Spirit. Soul looked back at Maka to see her clenching the branch twigs and crouching down tighter. He looked back at Kami in time to see her whip her head towards them. He heard Maka hitch her breath and his arm shot around her back and pushed her down to the ground.

"Shh," he hushed. Maka blushed. Not only was their proximity abnormally close, but he had his arm around her and was practically pulling her towards him. Soul noticed and flinched away awkwardly. "Sorry," he muttered.

Kami was quickly advancing towards Spirit. He looked up and saw her. He felt his eyes widen as he practically choked on the champagne he was drinking.

"K-Kami?" he asked in shock.

"Hello, Spirit," she spat. "It's been a while."

"Y-yeah, it's been practically sixteen years," he replied.

"Well, I'll get right to the point. Listen, and don't you lie to me, tell me where Maka is," Kami demanded, her eyes cold.

"Maka?" he asked in genuine confusion.

"Don't act dumb with me! I know she came here," she said.

"What do you mean? Why would she be here?"

"She ran away after hearing about you! I know she came to DWMA. Where else would she have gone. I'm not here for this party, I'm here to take her back home with _me_ where she belongs," she replied, acid dripping off her voice. Spirit cringed. The hate in her eyes was obviously towards him.

"Kami, I don't know anything about this, if I did-"

"If you did, you'd still be like this. Why would you want me to take her back?" Spirit gulped. This was not how he wanted his reunion with Kami to be like. And he certainly didn't want his daughter to have run away and be in danger. He wanted to talk about other things. He wanted to say how sorry he was and ask about how his daughter was doing.

"Kami I-"

"Omigosh! Kami! I haven't seen you for _years_! How've you been?" shouted a voice in the crowd. Kami glared at Spirit once more.

"I'll just find someone who _will_ give me the information I need," she said coldly before turning towards one of her old classmates. Spirit watched her disappear, longing to hold her and apologize over and over again.

Maka and Soul peered from the bushes as Kami left Spirit by himself. Maka sighed in relief as she watched her mother leave.

"Let's go back," she whispered.

"What?"

"Let's go home," she said, a little louder.

"Oh." Soul craned his head to look for an inconspicuous way out. "Here, follow me, and stay down so no one sees you."

They crawled around the bushes for a while before getting to a dark and empty pathway. They walked together in silence until they reached the dormitory and went their separate ways to bed.

**Congrats to valdezn for making the 100****th**** review! VIRTUAL COOKIES AND HUGGLES TO YOU!**


	15. Mother and Father

**-The next morning-**

Well? Now what?

It seemed to be the question running through Maka's head the most that morning. It was just last night that she had spied on the reunion party in the bushes, searching for her father. Her excitement for finally finding him was shot down almost immediately when her mother turned up at the party after all. Maka managed to slip away with Soul's help, unnoticed by Kami, but she knew that her mother wouldn't leave Death City until she got what she wanted. And Maka certainly didn't want to go back home after meeting new friends and being given the opportunity to become a meister like the mother she so looked up to.

Maka sighed, knitting her brows together in thought as she sat up on her bed, making the sheets rustle and the mattress squeak. She felt helpless and it frustrated her. She knew she couldn't miss class, especially so close to the exam she desperately needed to study for, but she knew that if she went, she'd risk being found by Kami.

She shook her head, her loose sandy hair tickling her face as it swished back and forth with the action. She wasn't weak. She'd go to school, and if Kami found her, she'd deal with the consequences and stand her ground. Maka wouldn't let her efforts go to waste. She wanted to stay. She wanted to continue her training and become a meister, a savior to innocent souls at risk of being devoured by the kishins she had learned about.

Maka swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. She pulled up the covers and fluffed the pillows before stepping out of her room and into the kitchen. She was surprised by the sight that greeted her: Soul sitting at the table with a piece of toast hanging out of his mouth.

"You're up early," she muttered, cocking a brow. Soul's eyes lazily turned to meet hers. She noticed that they looked droopier than usual and that the dark circles under his eyes were more noticeable.

"Yeah, and you're up late," he said, jerking his thumb towards the kitchen clock. Maka gasped, realizing she didn't have time to eat breakfast. She must've lost track of time while she was worrying about Kami finding her and attempting to make a plan if it happened.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she cried, scrambling back to her room to change out of her sleepwear. Soul sighed drowsily and rubbed his tired eyes, waiting for her to get ready and get them both going.

**-At DWMA-**

Spirit winded through the academy's labyrinth of hallways, searching for the one man who he was sure could answer the one question on his mind. Classes would start soon, so he had to hurry. He turned corner after corner with no avail. He looked down at his watch. He needed to report to the Shinigami room soon. He turned back and began making his way towards it. As he turned the corner to the hallway that led to the Shinigami room's door, Spirit caught sight of the man he was looking for, his lab coat flowing behind him as he walked.

"Stein!" Spirit cried, making the professor turn around. Spirit hobbled over as quickly as he could on his crutch to his old friend and huffed angrily.

"What is it Spirit? Make it quick, I need to get something from Shinigami-sama before classes begin," Stein said, stuffing his hands in his lab coat's pockets. Spirit frowned at him.

"What is all this I'm hearing about my baby Maka lately?" Spirit demanded. "You've been making all these comments about her and Kami lately and Kami practically strangled me yesterday and said something about Maka coming here!"

"Must've been a great reunion with your ex-wife," Stein remarked with a sly grin. Spirit sputtered and Stein waved him off. "Interesting things always seem to happen when you're gone," he chuckled quietly before closing the door to the Shinigami room behind him, leaving Spirit with his unanswered question.

**-During class-**

Soul lifted up the hood that was covering his eyes as he woke up from his short nap. The bright classroom lights felt piercing and forced him to squint sleepily. He heard a faint and quick tapping next to him. Turning his head slightly, he could see that Maka was tapping her finger on the desk. She wasn't looking intently at the board as she usually did, but instead shifting her eyes to the classroom door every so often. Her face displayed slight distress, eyebrows lightly knitted, biting her lower lip.

He could tell she was nervous. Maka had been acting strange since they'd arrived at school. She kept looking around the busy hallways, not keeping her usually perfectly straight posture. During lunch, he had seen her fidgeting nervously, trying to get her friends to sit in a less noticeable spot to eat. Soul knew why. It was because her mother was looking for her. And she certainly seemed determined to track Maka down.

Soul turned his eyes to the classroom's clock. It was already the last period of the day. He had spent the majority of the time sleeping on and off. It had been a rough night for him. His nightmares woke him up in the early hours of the morning and he struggled to fall back a sleep, only to be haunted by his thoughts. It wasn't rare for him to have nights such as these, but he didn't have one in a while.

_Slam_

The sound of the wooden classroom door slamming violently open jolted Soul from his thoughts. He whipped his head towards it to see a woman who looked almost identical to Maka standing in the doorway. He heard Maka squeak in shock. Turning to her, he saw her wide green eyes spark with fear, shoulders tense, and mouth slightly agape.

Maka froze. Her mind went numb. She watched helplessly as Kami glared straight at her.

"Kami?" Stein asked, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry, but I'm in the middle of-"

"Sorry Stein," Kami spat, her venomously green eyes never leaving Maka's, "I'll be out soon."

The whole class watched as Kami stalked over to a still frozen Maka. Soul didn't quite know how to react to the situation. He could help the poor girl stand up for herself or possibly temporarily escape her mother's wrath. But how? She seemed intimidating enough to rip his face off if he so much as opened his mouth. And besides, if he were to help Maka get away, where would they go? The woman was a graduate of DWMA, she would know exactly where she could find them. Not knowing what else to do, Soul sat with his mouth agape, watching the whole scene unfold with slightly widened eyes.

"M-Mom," Maka squeaked when Kami stood in front of her. Kami wasted no time grabbing her daughter's arm roughly, causing Maka to wimper.

"You're coming with me, young lady," Kami hissed. She dragged Maka behind her as she exited the classroom, ignoring her daughter's struggle under her grip.

"Mom! Let me go!" Maka cried, trying to yank her arm back, only to have Kami jerk it forward, making her stumble. Her mother's immense strength surprised Maka. It made her feel helpless. It made her feel weak. "Let me go! Mom! Stop!"

"Listen to me," Kami started, stopping suddenly and bringing Maka closer to her, "we are going back home today whether you like it or not. Is that understood?"

Maka fought back angry tears as she continued squirming in Kami's unrelenting hold. "No."

"Oh please," Kami spat, "you're being ridiculous!" She pulled Maka forward with her as she stepped out of the building.

"_You're_ being ridiculous!" Maka screamed, finally freeing herself from Kami as she yanked her arms back. She took a few steps away from Kami, her face curled into a snarl as she looked at her mother's equally aggressive expression. "I _belong _here. This isn't just about being mad at you, Mom. I'm a meister. Meisters train here to save people."

"That, and to get _killed _trying," her mother growled.

"Well I don't see you in a coffin. Kami Albarn, _the best_ female meister to ever graduate DWMA, who trained here and _didn't _die trying," said Maka, narrowing her eyes.

"That doesn't mean I didn't almost do so," Kami said in a low tone. "I didn't send you to DWMA for a reason. I didn't move all the way to the east coast so you could be a _runaway_ and come back here. I hid the truth from you because I didn't want you to follow my footsteps. I wanted you to live a safe, ordinary life. Now you're _ruining_ all of my efforts!" Kami snarled.

By this point Maka's anger was beginning to boil over. It was her life, it was her _duty_ as someone with meister blood flowing through her vains to train. Angry tears were threatening to spill over. "I-!"

"Maka?"

Both Maka and Kami turned towards the meek voice. There stood Spirit Albarn, supporting himself on his single crutch. They hadn't seen or heard him approach, being too absorbed in their argument.

"Spirit," Maka whispered under her breath. It was the man she didn't know what to think of. She had come to DWMA with the original intention of finding him, her real father, finding that he was paired with the two strongest meisters ever, but at the same time was a total pervert.

Spirit's confused and hesitant expression lightened as he broke into a grin, tears and snot flowing down his face. "Maka!" he cried before throwing himself at his long lost daughter, miraculously not tripping over himself in his condition. Maka spoke a soft 'oof' as Spirit slammed into her, wrapping his arms tightly around her, his lone crutch clattering to the ground in the process.

"My baby~!" he wailed, "My beautiful baby girl!"

"Hi," Maka started softly, "…Papa." At this, Spirit's crying grew louder. It was strange for her. She thought about all the research she did on him. He was a Deahscythe and he was paired with the two strongest meisters that ever graduated DWMA. But there he was, sobbing like an idiot and clinging to her like glue.

"Spirit, quit your ridiculous behavior and get off her," Kami said sharply, tearing Spirit off of Maka, making him stumble back. Maka scowled at her. "Maka, we're going home."

"No. I'm not going anywhere."

"Young lady-!"

"I'm staying and I'm gonna train to be a meister," Maka said firmly.

Kami glowered at her daughter. "Well I won't be supporting you. You can't stay in this place for free, Maka."

Maka chewed on her lip. That was true. She wasn't going to stay in those dorms forever. DWMA wouldn't pay her and a part time job would be rather difficult to find and time consuming. Then, the idea hit her. "Spir- Papa can support me," Maka said, shooting Spirit a hopeful look, to which he responded with a sparkle in his bright blue eyes and a grin.

"Do you really thi-!"

"Kami," Spirit interrupted, his face morphing into a serious expression, "She's my daughter too." Kami responded with an angry huff, before whirling around.

"Fine! Have it your way," she turned to look behind her, sadness glinting in her emerald eyes, "Goodbye Maka."

"Bye, Mom…" Maka said quietly as she watched her mother's retreating figure.

**-Later that day-**

Soul had returned to the dorm promptly after school. He wouldn't admit it, but he actually walked back faster than usual to see if Maka was there. After her mother dragged her out of the classroom like that, he wasn't sure if she'd been able to fight her off.

When he walked in, the place was empty. He checked her room and saw that all of her belongings were still there. But he assumed that her mother might've just taken Maka back without letting her go back for her things. She seemed like a rather intense woman, from what he had seen.

He opted for watching some television. There was nothing he could do anyway. If she really had left, he'd just have to get some other shitty temporary meister, maybe even have to drop down to the class lower than him if they didn't have enough meisters in his. It was a damn pain in the ass to adjust to her, too. He'd gotten used to her, tolerated her, liked her even (she made some good-ass food). She was the first person he'd told his life story to. Well_, practically_ the full picture, anyway.

It was about three hours after he came home that the front door creaked open. A tired Maka trudged in, dropping her school bag on the floor before flopping on the opposite end of the couch.

"You alright?" Soul asked.

"I don't know," she replied. She draped an arm over her eyes and sighed.

"What happened with your mom?"

"She left," she answered tersely.

Soul didn't pry, though he was a bit curious. He wasn't the type to. Besides, she seemed as though she didn't want to talk about it, so he continued staring at the television screen blankly. That is until heard soft sniffling next to him. Snapping his head around, which he cussed himself for doing since it wasn't very cool, he saw that she had tears streaming down her cheeks. Crying again. Great.

"Hey," he started, "you okay?"

"It's just," she sobbed, "I feel really bad."

"What?"

"I-I told her that I wanted to stay and that Spirit could support me. B-but I feel really bad."

"Why?"

"She looked really sad," Maka answered lamely before sniffling again and rubbing her tears off. Soul sighed. He didn't know how to handle stuff like this. He wasn't exactly a therapist, in fact, he was the type who probably needed one. But after a few moments of thought, he settled for this.

"Hey, listen," he started, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back on the soft cushions of the sofa, "There's always a time in life where you gotta live a little and break away." Maka looked up at him with her big watery eyes curiously. "You ran away from home but never really broke it off with your mom. Now you've stood up for yourself and decided to stay here on your own," he continued and gave her a small crooked grin, "It just a part of growing up I guess."

Maka wiped the remainder of the moisture in her eyes away and gave a short laugh.

"I guess."


	16. Some Thoughts

** A/N: **_**IMPORTANT**__** FOR ANYONE WHO HAS STARTED THIS FIC BEFORE **__**OCTOBER 30, 2012.**_

** I have rewritted/edited every chapter in this story. I mean, serious rewriting. A guest reviewer brought it to my attention that I made Maka's character a bit irritating and whiney. Looking back, I noticed it was true and that I didn't want her perceived that way. Plus I realized how badly written the story was and decided I needed to update the writing style. I made some story edits as well. Nothing major, you could probably live without reading everything over again, but I think the story is MUCH better now. MUCH. So anyway, plz enjoy. After spending my entire summer editing the other chapters…**

**-Maka-**

Maka's life in Death City began to change since the day she exchanged goodbyes with her mother. For one, she finally established a relationship with Spirit, her birth father, after never having seen him all her life. It wasn't as great as what she'd hoped for. Spirit was constantly calling her his little angel, treating her as though she were five, and giving her rib-crushing embraces every time they happened to be in the same hallway. It was fair to say she got annoyed with him very quickly.

Another change, Maka noticed, was Soul's attitude towards her. She no longer felt the hostile vibe he used to give off every time she spoke to him. In fact, he seemed a whole lot more neutral towards her, pleasant even. Their conversations were no longer short and clipped, they turned into something enjoyable. They'd usually spend their evenings in the living room, Soul slumping on the sofa watching television, and Maka sitting on the chair reading a book, looking up every once in a while to see what was happening on the screen. They usually talked about TV, ridiculous classmates, and how Dr. Stein was a complete nut. Naturally, this usually brought up a lot of laughs, giving their dorm a relaxed atmosphere, melting away its previous apprehensive one. He even volunteered to go food shopping from time to time, to Maka's surprise.

With the upcoming test, she was more studious than ever. She'd brought home an armful of books having to do with Soul Theory and was plowing through them, taking notes of important details. After school, she usually stayed behind a bit longer to work on her strength, speed, and agility at the athletic fields. The teachers were giving out little to no homework, to Maka's relief, so she was able to study and have some free reading time.

She and Soul began training together for the obstacle course. Their first attempt was disastrous, to say the least. Maka had no idea how to handle Soul in scythe form, swinging him randomly and missing practically every target. Soul wasn't much help either, not being able to help her out with matching her movements. They were lucky the safety mode was on, otherwise they'd have no doubt been crushed, thrown off, or even killed by the obstacle course. They both agreed that they needed to start training together more often. And they did. And they got better.

Like now, as Maka ducked under a swinging pendulum, striking a dummy as soon as she stood back up. She managed to slice it clean in half, grinning to herself and tightening her grip on Soul's handle as she ran to the next one.

"Nice," Soul complimented as she used brute force to knock the unfortunate mannequin down with foot of the staff. Just a week ago, they'd been having problems with that particular area since the transitions were so quick.

"We're not done yet," Maka panted, hopping from one small platform to another over a pool of unbecoming sludge. She squeaked shortly when her shoe nearly made her slip off and she clumsily made it to the other side.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," she murmured, wiping the sweat from her brow. "But, I think that's enough for today."

With that, Soul shot from her hands and turned back to normal, standing beside her. They got off the obstacle course and returned to the dorm together.

**-Soul-**

He never thought he'd ever be able to open up to anyone ever again. His childhood only had one positive figure in it: his brother, Wes. But even he managed to turn on him. From there, Soul's life had gone downhill.

But then came Maka. She'd really managed to worm her way into his closed off, frigid heart. She actually seemed to care. Sure she seemed as though she was having none of his bullshit at times, but in the end Maka took him seriously. Though he seemed to repel everyone else, she never left. Sure Maka had hesitated, avoided him, but she always came back, putting on a brave front.

It was his fault things got off on a rocky start. But putting on a frightening front prevented people from getting close to him. From experience, he knew that people would disappoint him, abandon him for who he really was. But Maka was different. She broke through his façade and didn't leave him for who he used to be. That's probably all he needed. Acceptance.

Soul had to give her a chance too. After pushing her away so much, he never really got to know her. All he picked up was that she was a bookworm, obsessed with school, and apparently an amazing cook. Hobby-wise anyway. Soul also knew she was a good shot from all the books she'd rammed into his skull.

When he looked at her more closely, he could see that when she read, she often shifted her position on the chair. Maka would start with sitting upright, then bring her legs up and sit Indian style, then one leg on the armrest, then lie sideways with both legs on the armrest. Not to mention her facial expressions. When she read, he noticed, Maka would make various facial expressions, depending on the situation. It was amusing to watch her read and subconsciously make faces as she flipped through the pages. Sometimes she'd even make dramatic hand gestures at a novel and later explain that the character was making an unbelievable decision or comment. Soul found her expressive reading absolutely charming and adorable. Of course, he'd never admit that out loud. Usually he'd mock her and she'd respond with a grumbled 'shut up' and continue.

Maka was just about the most determined person he'd ever known. She was constantly depending on her own efforts to get what she wanted. He'd always thought you could only achieve something if you were destined to do it. Like his brother and parents, all musical prodigies. And then there was him. The odd one out, the ugly duckling. Constantly scorned for not having the talent to write a good composition or play the piece.

But Maka was able to reach her goals just by _trying_. By working hard. She'd only been here for about a month, but already she was getting some of the highest marks in the class. There was also her athletic ability. He presumed she wasn't too into the physical department when Maka first came, but now he couldn't help but notice how her legs gradually got firmer, more muscular than the awkward sticks they were before. And there was definitely no denying the meat she'd built up in her arms. There was no way a tiny girl like her would be able to swing a scythe his size around without having put some effort into upper body strength. All his life he thought he was useless because he had no talent and that no matter how hard he tried, fate would never allow him to be accepted.

**-Maka-**

The nightly piano recitals continued. They seemed to be more frequent, and she was always there for them. Soul wasn't playing as many tragic melodies as before. Instead, they were replaced by happy, lively songs that put a smile on her face. She wished he wasn't so secretive about his talent. Something like that should be shared with the world. But Maka kept her secret, fearing that Soul would get angry. After all, he went through quite a bit of trouble to keep his playing unknown.

Maka figured that one day he'd find out. But that day hadn't come yet.

**A/N: Yeah, yeah. Shit chapter, I know. It was a drabble, but I needed to get something up so I could get the rewritten chapters up and noticed. Anyway, over the summer I worked really hard on this story (rewriting and planning ahead). I even managed to concentrate on planning while this creepy guy was doing bike tricks over a water bottle with his shirt off (I have this hill at my grandparents house I like to sit on at sunset where I get inspiration and its right next to this little street and this dude lives there and I think he was into me and started doing weird shit to try to impress me or something). So that was my summer…**

**OMG EXCITING NEWS! I started writing another SoMa fic and I think it's gonna be great. This time I plan to write the whole thing, or at least part of it, before putting it up online so that I can update regularly. I don't wanna give anything away though.**

**Btw don't expect an update soon. School is horrible. Junior year is super hard and my teachers love projects. Plus, the only reason I was able to update is because Hurricane Sandy is going on outside right now and I have two days off school. But know this: I love you guys and I love writing. I just don't have a lot of time for it. Plus there's drama, BBC shows (especially Sherlock. Omg Im obsessed with it), and Tumblr.**

**ANOTHER IMPORTANT THING: From now on, any news or whatever about me will be on my profile, which I will update as much as I can. It'll give you status on stories or whatever's keeping me away.**

**LOVE YOU!**


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